Barfly
by T.C.Rose
Summary: Tifa is a stripper who dreams of something more Cloud is an heir with no purpose in life. Can he change her life for the better? Or will he use her like the other men in her life have?
1. A Stripper's Life

Author's Note: I'm so glad you all are reading this, please review. While I usually detest the idea of trying to make Tifa look like a whore, I thought that giving her a certain trait this way might add some character to this story. If that made any sense. Enjoy!  
  
  
  
The lights danced around the room like the northern lights, casting a rosy tint to the club. Old techno music could be heard playing loudly in the background as the dancers continued on with their routines. It was nearing eight o'clock, the busiest time of the night. The performer who was to dance at that time attracted more men than all of the other strippers combined. Extra chairs were added and sometimes a line formed outside for her.  
  
This wasn't what she wanted, however. She stood in the dressing room mentally preparing herself for another night of aggravation. She ran over her routine in her mind, forcing herself to remember all her beats. She closed her eyes and sighed, looking down at herself in her costume, a small white tank top that sunk low into her chest and didn't even cover the bottoms of her breasts, and a black mini skirt that barely covered half of her bottom.  
  
Every night before she was to dance she cried to herself in her personal dressing room. She made more money in tips in one night than most of the other girls made in a week. She wasn't proud of herself, not in the least. She never wanted to strip, it had been the last career she would have ever chosen for herself.  
  
She didn't know what she wanted to do with her life. She knew she wanted to get married, but what man could love a stripper for who she was and not what she did? One day she wanted a family too, but she didn't know how to get out of her business. She had tried to quit many times before, but her boss just looked at her and laughed, saying that her quitting would be like him losing weight, it just wouldn't happen.  
  
When she stomped her foot and pouted, he turned away, counting the money he had just made from her performance. She would follow him around the bar, exclaiming that she would quit. Again he would laugh, saying that if she ever quit he would have to kill her.  
  
That's practically how she had gotten into this business. She was taking a class on martial arts, something she had been training at since she was little. The owner of Sevenstone (A/N: another reference to like, all my other stories.) Club had walked past the gym she was training at and stopped to watch her. She was so flexible and beautiful that he waited until her class was over so that he could approach her. At first she had tried to avoid him, afraid that he was just another horny bastard trying to hit on her. He had convinced her that he was the owner of another martial arts gym, and that he wanted her to teach for him. She gladly accepted her new job, only to find out later what it really was that he wanted her to do.  
  
She first stepped into Sevenstone Club a week after she met with her new boss. Upon entering she noticed the women dancing around poles with hardly any clothes on and she immediately choked and walked out. Her boss caught up with her and told her that they had an agreement. She had told him he was a liar, that she never agreed to strip for him, but he pulled out a contract she had signed without reading.  
  
So here she was now, a stripper. Her beauty and grace had made her very popular with the men but she never grew comfortable exposing herself to them. Every night it was the same thing, she would enter the stage and hear the roar of applause that flooded the room, she would see the line outside the door, the men standing in its frame just trying to get a glimpse of her.  
  
She choked back the tears as she heard her name called. Another night of torture, another night of being objectified, another night of feeling inadequate, unable to be loved for anything more than her body. She looked down at the ground and said a small prayer, hoping that someday she would be able to leave her prison.  
  
"Tifa Lockheart." The voice said and there was a standing ovation as she entered.  
  
She sashayed out to center stage and grasped the pole with her right hand, bringing her knee up to it and wrapping her leg around the golden pillar, sliding down it. She knew that no matter what she did the men would love her, that she could probably trip on stage and they would cheer.  
  
She pressed her back against the pole and slowly sat down, with one leg outstretched and the other crossed over and bent at the knee. She rolled over onto her stomach and shifted her weight, getting up with her bottom raised in the air. She stood up and spread her legs, running her hands along her skin and licking her lips. How she wanted to jump off the stage and run away more than anything.  
  
She wrapped her leg around the pole and jumped up to spin around it sexily, her eyes heavy with anticipation. She crawled towards the crowd and grabbed a mans tie, pulling him just inches away from her face, then letting him fall back into his chair. She stood up as men placed gil in the waistband of her skirt.  
  
She stood tall as she moved to take off her shirt, the applause getting louder with each passing moment. Her breasts now completely exposed she continued to dance, while gil was thrown onto the stage by the handful. She looked at the men teasingly, placing a finger to her lips then running it down her torso to her skirt. She laughed and began to lower her skirt, exposing her g-string. She hugged the pole and let the men linger on her bottom for a while, then whipped around to cast them a devilish glare.  
  
She kneeled down on the stage and waited for more gil. She looked at the men with anger in her heart, praying for a miracle that would release her from her darkest torment. When at last none of her clothes remained on her time was up, and she eagerly returned to her dressing room.  
  
"You were amazing tonight, baby." Her boss congratulated her as she started to get dressed. "You really knocked 'em dead, huh?" He followed her around her dressing room as if they were in a normal meeting.  
  
"Yeah, just like last night, and the night before." Tifa snapped, clasping her bra.  
  
"What do you mean, baby?" Her boss asked, placing his hands on her shoulders and trying to sound sympathetic. Tifa pushed him away and walked to the other side of her room.  
  
"I mean, Dan, that I'm sick of this job, and I don't want to work here anymore, but its not like I ever did anyway." She snarled, hoping he would just get angry and fire her for her insolence.  
  
"Ouch, babe, you cut me real deep." Dan said placing his hand over his heart.  
  
Tifa rolled her eyes and walked away again, with Dan close at her heels. He grabbed her again and spun her around to face him, trying to force her to look at him.  
  
"You can't leave, and you know that. Where will you go? What will you do? You never finished school and who would hire a stripper? Plus, might I remind you that if you leave that I can have hitmen after you just like that?" He said, snapping his fingers.  
  
Tifa again rolled her eyes and glared at him.  
  
"How can you threaten me like that? I bring in more money than all those other girls combined!" Tifa declared, stamping her foot.  
  
"Without you this place would be ruined! No one wants to see those other girls, they're just...mediocre, but you, kid, you got it." Tifa glared at him coldly.  
  
"Do you think I care about your stupid business? You've ruined my life! I never wanted to strip and you knew that, but you said if I worked for you for a little while you'd help me get into the University of Midgar. But you never did!" She screamed, nearly jumping up and down from her anger.  
  
Dan tried to put his arm around her to comfort her but she pushed him into the wall. He got up and grabbed her wrist, slapping her in the face and sending her reeling to the ground. Tears streamed down her cheek as she stood up, rubbing her face.  
  
"Don't you EVER hit me again, wench!" He screamed, throwing her to the ground again.  
  
Tifa stood up and cried openly, having never been a weak person, she suddenly found herself very vulnerable. Dan saw her tears and drew her to him, wrapping his arms around her thin frame and stroking her hair with his hand.  
  
"I'm sorry, darling, I didn't mean to lose my temper. And I promise that I'm working on getting you into that college, my cousin over there, see, he's real busy and its hard for me to get a word to him, but I'm trying, I really am." He pulled away from her and wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumbs, smiling. "Now smile, I don't like seeing my best girl upset." She laughed at that and tried to smile.  
  
She didn't trust him at all, but at least he apologized for hitting her. It had been over a year since she started dancing for him and she hadn't heard so much as a word from Midgar U. She wanted to leave more than anything on earth, but she knew that Dan would hurt her if she did, and if he was, indeed, trying to get her into Midgar U, she would lose her opportunity.  
  
"Now why don't you go home early and take a nice hot bath, treat yourself real nice." Dan offered, trying to cheer her up. Tifa looked up at him and smiled.  
  
"Really?" Dan nodded. "Thank you." Tifa said, hugging him softly, then turning to leave.  
  
When she walked out the door Dan rubbed his forehead in agony. He didn't know how much longer he could keep up this charade. He felt that soon she would give up on him and leave, and he wouldn't have that, he couldn't lose his best act. But he knew that he didn't have a cousin who worked at Midgar U, that was most definitely a lie, but he couldn't let Tifa slip away.  
  
Midgar had grown this night, the wind felt icy against her bare legs as Tifa hugged her jacket close to her body for warmth. She had wanted to quit so badly that night, but she just couldn't. She had given up everything in life on a hunch that someone could help her into the college of her dreams, but she was shattered now, lost in a labyrinth of lies.  
  
She opened the creaky old door to her small, damp apartment in the slums, and flicked on a light switch. A hum of electricity loomed in the air as the light flickered a few times before fully turning on. Tifa removed her coat and tossed it on her couch as she made her way to the tiny kitchen. She made herself a bowl of hot soup and sat down on the couch to watch the news, flipping through channels until she found her favorite broadcast.  
  
"Midgar University will soon go under a massive spending spree as it opens up a new wing dedicated to the soon-to-be owner, Cloud Strife. Cloud Strife is of course the son of gillionaire Thaddeus Strife, who inherited the campus from his father, and so on." The news anchor announced.  
  
Tifa leaned back in her chair and flipped of the television before a picture of the famed heir was flashed across the screen. She didn't need to know who he was, she didn't really care. In the pit of her stomach was a twist of jealousy. She was working hard in a job she hated just to be able to afford her apartment and yet, there were people in the world born into luxury. She really hated him for that. She assumed that Cloud didn't know the meaning of the word 'labor'.  
  
Angered, she placed her empty bowl in the sink and headed for the bathroom. She placed a hand on either side of her pillar sink and stared at herself in the mirror, as she did every night.  
  
"What have I become?" She would ask herself.  
  
She looked down as tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. She looked up again and glared at her reflection. She hated who she was, or what she had become. When she moved to Midgar with the promise of getting into a great college, she thought that her life would be terrific. But after being forced into working for a lying boss and not getting anywhere closer to her dream, she realized that she was only fooling herself. She had ruined herself, it was nobody's fault but her own and she needed to accept it.  
  
She had no friends in the city. Men would hit on her in the street but she would never trust them. Women looked down their nose at her for looking the way she did, something she could not have controlled. Her fellow strippers were all jealous of the money and attention she got and wanted nothing to do with her.  
  
She couldn't help it that people hated her. She had never been a cruel person and done nothing to anger the other women. She had been told that they were jealous, but when rumors would surface that she was fake, it really hurt her. True, her breasts were large, but she had never gotten implants, they were totally natural. But other women would never accept that.  
  
She removed her clothes as she turned the water on, waiting for the tub to fill. She looked down at her body, wishing that she could look differently. Wishing that maybe tomorrow she would wake up and be ugly, and that she would be fired for no longer being able to bring in customers. She had prayed for that every night for the past year, but with each morning brought her nowhere closer to anything less than beautiful.  
  
She stepped into the scalding water, hoping to burn away her beauty. She was not suicidal, and she never hurt herself, but times were getting hard and she was just hoping to somehow start over her life. Maybe one day a knight in shining armor would come and whisk her away from this dreadful place. He wouldn't care that she was a stripper, but he would help her change her life.  
  
She leaned back in the tub and closed her eyes, dreaming of her perfect man. She nearly fell asleep but was awakened by the sudden feeling of nausea. She immediately got out of the tub and drained the water, toweling herself dry. She wrapped a robe around her body and walked into her bedroom.  
  
She walked to her dresser and opened her top drawer, removing her pajamas. She dressed and walked over to her vanity to brush her hair. It was long and dark brown, reaching down to her thighs. She had wanted to cut it, but Dan had ordered her not to, he said it gave her another edge. God how she hated her life. She looked at her reflection and thought to herself, what if I did end it all?  
  
She shook her head to dismiss the thought. She was being silly, one day her dreams would come true. She knew it. She got up and went to her bed to lie down, closing her eyes and thinking of what her life could have been.  
  
Then she thought about what would happen if she weren't there. It pained her to realize that nothing would change if she weren't alive. Sure, Dan's business might have to shut down, but other than that the world would remain as it always had.  
  
She could have tried to get into college on her own. She didn't know why she had trusted someone else to help her. If she had applied herself, she might have already been accepted and enrolled. But now she was trapped. All she could do now was hope that Dan would come through for her, or that she would meet her hero.  
  
She turned on her side and smiled, thinking of her hero. He would come and save her from her pitiful existence. He would love her for who she was, her wit, her charm, and her intelligence. He would lay next to her each night, holding her and breathing in her sweet scent, happy just to be near her.  
  
She fell asleep peacefully that night, dreaming of her beloved. She wished that she could sleep all day, when she was dreaming, nothing bad could happen to her, unless it was a nightmare. As long as she was asleep, she wouldn't have to wake up and go to work, she could live in her dream world forever.  
  
  
  
The morning dawn should have peered in through the window to wake her up, but under the upper plate of Midgar no light could ever be seen. Tifa woke up at around noon each day, not having to go to work until seven at night. She was obviously treated differently from the other girls, not having to go to work until later and being able to leave earlier, which made them jealous.  
  
She had once even gotten into a fight with one of the other workers. The girl, Larissa, had shoved her one-day, screaming at her, claiming that she thought she was better than everyone else. Tifa tried to avoid the fight by stating that she didn't think she was better than anyone. It was not enough for Larissa, however, as she threw a punch into Tifa's jaw. Tifa retaliated, and it was Larissa who would lose the fight. Larissa was soon fired for trying to hurt Dan's prized dancer, which infuriated her.  
  
Tifa got out of bed and opened up her closet. She pulled out a pair of tight blue jean hip-huggers, and a white tank top that showed her midriff. She laced up her skate shoes and brushed her hair, ready to run her errands for the day.  
  
She left her apartment and walked down the street, a fake heat hovering over the lower city. She did not own a car, even though she could afford it. She had great money savvy, and saved most of her paycheck in a savings account. She took just enough to get by and would save the rest for her college tuition. With the money she had in the bank she could buy a larger house and a car, but she chose not to. She was getting by fine with what she used.  
  
She could see men stare at her as she walked down the street, but pretended not to notice. She didn't know who came to watch her at the club or who didn't. In her opinion, all men were greasy, tainted with the want of sex. She walked into the grocery store to buy a few things. She stopped in front of the alcohol to contemplate trying to buy some. She knew that she was too young, but perhaps the cashier wouldn't card her. She was only nineteen, just two more years until she could drown her sorrows in the despicable liquid.  
  
After paying for her groceries she walked back home to get ready for work. She still had several hours until she needed to arrive, but she had chores to do around the apartment as well. She entered her dank pit and hung up her coat from the night before. Being unsatisfied with her life, she had developed an obsessive-compulsive disorder, and needed her home to be emaculate. She washed her bowl from the night before and cleaned off the kitchen counter. She vacuumed and cleaned her bathroom from top to bottom, and by the time she finished it was time to really get ready for work.  
  
She sighed as she cleaned herself up. She put on her stage makeup at home so she could meditate before her performance. She changed her clothes and left for the club, hoping that somehow, tonight would be different. 


	2. An Heir's Life

Author's Note: I hope that people will start to enjoy this story as they have Victim. I'm very sick right now so I don't know if my thoughts will translate well onto paper. I came up with the idea for this story last week at work, but just started writing it today. Well, here's chapter 2!  
  
  
  
The sun beamed down on the elite from the heavens, smiling at the rich as if they were gods. It cast its golden rays across their faces, illuminating them in an ethereal light. They knew that just below their feet lay turmoil, and frankly, they could care less. They had more important things on their mind, like shopping and buying the most innovative, expensive new gadget, than to bother with the common person. Life had dealt the lesser a different card, and it was not the fault of the rich, that lower Midgar was poor.  
  
The houses in this section of Midgar were all Costa Del Sol style homes; with crème colored adobe finishes and tiled roofs. It was a beachy atmosphere, even though there were no beaches anywhere near to them. It didn't matter though, the people who lived on the upper plate traveled to Costa Del Sol regularly without worrying about gil.  
  
The crystal water reflected in the young man's eyes as he lay on a lounge chair next to his swimming pool. The perfection of the liquid proved just how truly spoiled the young man was. Not a speck of dirt in his life, he never had to worry about anything in life. And that was precisely his problem.  
  
He sat in his swim trunks, navy blue and without a shirt, revealing his perfect abs. He was a well-built man, barely twenty, with uneven, blonde spiky hair and a deep tan. Having worked out for years and obtaining the perfect body, he found himself in a rut as far as life went. He had finished high school two years ago, but had not gone to college or gotten a job. He knew that he didn't have to, he was going to inherit Midgar University from his father, and he would be set financially for life.  
  
He had never lifted a finger in his life. He had been a bachelor, coasting through school with purchased grades and using women. Every girl that saw him instantly fell in love with his flawless features, and he could have anyone he wanted. Everyday he had a new girl by his side, but today he had three, all sitting beside him on his deck, stroking his hair and offering him drinks. He appeared uninterested, however, and just sat there, reading a newspaper, while the women around him desperately tried to get his attention.  
  
But he was unsatisfied. All his life he had been given everything he asked for, waited on hand and foot, never having to take orders. Sometimes he wished that he could give it all up for a day to figure out how regular people lived. He often thought about venturing down to the lower city in search of an average life, but would soon think better of it.  
  
He was privileged, and he wouldn't last a minute in the harsh world below him. He had everything he needed right where he was. And in another month he would gain control of the university as his father retired to their summer home in Costa Del Sol, where his father and father before him had gone before they died. The young man too, would find his death in that house.  
  
He always hated going there as a child. His father would always tell him about his grandfathers and how they died there. It creeped the young boy out. He had nightmares of being murdered by the ghosts of his ancestors, and begged and pleaded not to go each year.  
  
Now he would be on his own, inheriting a fortune and a campus. He wasn't a business major, he knew nothing about running a college, but he knew that he had advisors for that sort of thing. He lay back in the sun, letting its warmth caress his perfect form.  
  
The women around him did not interest him. He had found long ago that senseless tramps could not satisfy him. He could have sex with them easily, but a commitment with the brainless sluts was out of the question. Sometimes he wished that he could meet a down to earth girl, someone not bratty and spoiled. He had a vision of his dream girl that he kept locked inside his head and no one knew about her.  
  
Suddenly his sun was blocked out by a large shadow hovering over him. He quickly sat up, pushing the girls aside as they tumbled to the cement. His father stood over him, his hands on his hips and a look of despair plastered across his face.  
  
"Is this what you're going to do with your life?" His father asked, his voice deep and gruff. "Sit around by the pool all day and let life pass you by?" He leaned closer to his son, just inches from the younger man's face. "Why don't you start helping me with the family business? Or find yourself a nice girlfriend, you haven't ever had one of them." His father teased, glaring at the floozies surrounding his son.  
  
It was true; the young blonde had never had a girlfriend. Every girl he met was the same, a brainless bitch with her father's credit card. No one suited him. He wanted someone that he could take care of, a girl that needed him, not just wanted him. The girls around town, they just wanted him to further their financial status, they didn't really love him.  
  
The young man did not answer his father, just turned to look the other way. He gazed out across the pool, over the adobe wall and out towards the mountains beyond. He wished that he could just fly away over the mountains and leave his life behind. He wanted to be a common person, just like those in the lower city.  
  
"Cloud? Cloud are you listening to me?" Thaddeus said, slapping his son across the face. Cloud was brought back to reality with the sharp reprimand.  
  
"Ow! What was that for?" Cloud demanded, rubbing his cheek.  
  
"For being a louse, that's what!" His father growled, standing up and towering over the young man. "Now get off your ass and do something productive for once!" He added, throwing his hands in the air.  
  
Cloud jumped up and followed his father, without dismissing the girls, who giddily followed his every step back towards the mansion. He slammed the sliding glass door in their faces, leaving them outside to whine and beg to be let in.  
  
"What do you want me to do, pop? Get a job and then quit in a month?" Cloud asked angrily as he followed his father into his office.  
  
The older man sat down behind his mahogany desk and took out a cigar, placing it between his lips and lighting it. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, being sure to take in the tobacco as concentrated as possible. He blew smoke towards his son, who cringed and turned away.  
  
"Whatsa matta? Don't like smoke?" His father asked, leaning back in his chair. Cloud glared at him and shook his head.  
  
"No. I don't. Why? Are you gonna make fun of me for it?" Cloud retaliated sharply.  
  
"Son, I'm hurt that you think that way. I'm not out to get you, and I don't bite. I just don't want you to end up like the other people in this town, all spoiled and living life without purpose. You have so much potential, I just want you to make something of yourself." His father said sympathetically. Cloud rolled his eyes and groaned.  
  
"Since when did you take an interest in my life?" Cloud snapped.  
  
"Since always. I always dreamed that you would be bigger than life."  
  
"You have to have a life in order to be bigger than it." Cloud quipped. His father laughed.  
  
"You have a life, son, what are you talking about?"  
  
"No, pop, I don't have a life. I've never worked a day in my life, I've never done anything for myself and no one looks at me for who I am, they just see me as a giant gil sign!" Cloud whined.  
  
"But that is your life. That is what we Strife's are all about. We don't have to lift a finger; we have the world at our beck and call. Don't you like that?" His father stood up and walked around the desk to place his hands on Cloud's shoulders.  
  
"No, that's not what I want." Cloud stated coldly, looking up at his father through disapproving eyes. "I don't wanna be like you, I don't want to inherit a life, I want to make one of my own."  
  
"Then do it. No one's stopping you. You can just leave all this behind." His father walked over to the large window behind his desk and waved his hand across the city.  
  
"You're stopping me. You're handing me a life, YOUR life. If I walk out, you'll disown me." Cloud hung his head staring at his feet.  
  
"I'm not stopping you, Cloud. You think I am but I'm not. I just want you to be happy and if this isn't what you want," He leaned over his desk and propped himself up with his fists, bowing his head, "then I won't stop you." Cloud walked over to his father and put his arm around the man's shoulders.  
  
"Pop, I'm not going to leave you. I'll take over the business, I just...want to be my own person, not a pawn of the industry."  
  
"But you won't be, son, you'll have more control than anyone else in the city. Then once you have the university running how you want it, you can start looking for a wife, or anything else you may want." Cloud rolled his head back and laughed.  
  
"Right, a spineless, brainless chick with no conversation skills whatsoever. No thank you."  
  
"Hey, leave your mother alone." His father mused, pointing a finger at his son. Cloud laughed.  
  
"I wasn't talking about mom." He laughed.  
  
"I know, I know. But still, find yourself a brainy girl, if that's what you want. You've got the campus, go find a smart one." His father advised.  
  
"That's not what I meant." Cloud corrected, walking away from his father and setting his sights on a bookcase. "I want a down to earth girl, someone unspoiled by greed and money, an average girl who wouldn't deplete my savings account." Cloud joked, turning back towards his father.  
  
Thaddeus walked up to the young man and placed his hands on Cloud's shoulders. He nodded his head in agreement and looked up at the heavens to say a silent prayer to his departed wife.  
  
"Tell you what," He began, patting Cloud on the back, "you take the next couple of weeks off from this house and go find yourself, go wherever you want." He pointed a scrupulous finger at his son, "Just make sure you come back in time for the inheritance celebration." Cloud laughed and hugged his father.  
  
"Don't worry, I'll be back in time." And with that, he turned and left the office.  
  
Thaddeus strolled back over to his desk and sat down, rubbing his forehead with his index and middle fingers. He wanted his son to inherit the family business, but he also didn't want to hold the boy back from anything he truly wanted. He was torn. He thought that sending Cloud away for a few weeks would calm his nerves and set him free. Then he could return home ready to take over the university.  
  
"Cloud, just don't screw up." He said quietly to himself.  
  
  
  
Cloud anxiously packed his bags in preparation to leave home. He had thought a lot about where he should go, and finally decided to go to lower Midgar. He wanted to see how the most common of common people lived, how simple their lives were.  
  
He wanted to be looked at incredulously and as if he were just another run-of-the-mill average Joe. He hoped that no one would recognize him and that he could be treated just like everyone else. An intense excitement burned inside of him as he thought of the women he would meet. He wanted someone he could save, someone not bent on spending massive amounts of gil on random impulses. But he didn't know where to meet a girl like that.  
  
Another thing he had always wondered about was strip clubs. There weren't any low-level seedy clubs on the upper plate, only expensive call girls. He wanted to know what average men did on a typical night. He felt that now would be as good a time as any to experience an average night of drinking as well.  
  
He had been drunk before, many times. In high school him and his buddies would go out drinking and partying every weekend, but they always had high-class liquor, which he knew would be unheard of in the lower plate. He and his friends would drive around in their fancy cars, speeding through traffic and yelling at everyone they passed, picking up women anywhere they went. The police wouldn't bother them, they knew Cloud's father, he practically owned the whole police department with all the donations he gave, so they wouldn't dare touch a hair on his head.  
  
He wondered if regular beer could have different effects on him than the alcohol he was used to. For his first night on the town, he would find the seediest looking strip club he could find.  
  
He finished packing and slung his bag over his shoulder, taking one last look at the room he had called home for twenty years. There was no longing in his expression, only the fringe of adventure in his cerulean eyes. He turned to leave the room, finding his way out of his house, and into a world he would soon meet.  
  
  
  
It had been difficult getting to the lower plate. No trains or any other means of transportation traveled there from the upper plate. No one from the high-class society would ever want to converse with those of the lower class, and those in the slums were not allowed to visit the elite.  
  
His only chance at getting to the lower plate was to leave the city entirely; taking the number four train out into the Midgar Plains. He then returned to the city through the gargantuan double doors that barred his entrance. Those of the lower city had keys to unlock the doors, but Cloud found himself at a loss. People who lived in upper Midgar took the train up to their homes, no one walked through the slums.  
  
He waited for a long time until someone finally came to let himself in. Cloud looked at the man, hoping he would be able to slip through the door with him. The man, dressed in a cheap, inferior suit, looked at Cloud down his nose. He sneered at the spiky headed blonde as he turned his key, making the doors before him rattle open.  
  
"Lost my key." Cloud said with a shrug.  
  
The man nodded in feigned acknowledgement, allowing Cloud access to the slums of Midgar. Cloud entered slowly, as if something would jump out and attack him. He stopped on the other side of the gate to take in the scenery. He had never seen such a dump in his entire life. His garbage can was cleaner than this place. He cringed when a whiff of the town entered his nostrils, rendering him dizzy and nearly making him pass out.  
  
He struggled to act calm and blend into his surroundings as if he had lived there his whole life, but he could tell by the looks on the faces of the people he passed that he was clearly an outsider. He walked the desolate streets searching for something to do. He needed a place to stay but first off he wanted to find a strip club.  
  
After walking for what seemed like an eternity, he entered an urban part of town, where piled junk was nowhere to be seen. The buildings were dirty and many were dilapidated but a few of them had flashing neon lights and large banners out front to draw attention. Cloud looked above his head at the large banner stretching from one side of the street to the other. 'Wall Market', it said, in large bold print. He looked down the street at the colorful lights to decide where he would go next.  
  
His eyes rest on a large pink neon sign that read 'Sevenstone Strip Club'. Cloud figured that was as good a place as any and began to walk towards the entrance, trying to focus on where he was going and read the running marquee at the same time.  
  
TIFA LOCKHEART...8:00...EVERY NIGHT...  
  
Cloud had no idea who that was, but he figured she must be important judging by the size of the crowd outside. He walked up to the bouncer at the entrance and tapped his shoulder. The large black man glared at him and raised his chin. Cloud cowered back a little in order to ask his question.  
  
"This is Sevenstone, right?" The bouncer looked at him as if he were the stupidest man alive. He shifted his weight and pointed to the sign above his head.  
  
"Can't you read?" He sneered, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.  
  
"I'd like to go in." Cloud declared, sticking out his chest in defiance. The bouncer raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Yeah? You and about five-hundred others, get in line, pal." He snarled, turning back towards the next person in line, who had begun to almost hyperventilate.  
  
"Hey...hey...you can cut in front of me!" The thin man at the head of the line said. Cloud was a little taken aback that someone had recognized him, but he guessed that it was for the good if it would allow him to get a thrill for the night. The bouncer gave him a cold, hard stare and moved the velvet rope aside, allowing Cloud access to the club.  
  
It was about 7:30 and the place was packed with horny men cheering wildly. Girls danced on stage while others served drinks, waiting for their turn to dance. Cloud found a seat at the bar and sat down to watch the women. He ordered a common beer from the bartender and began to sip on the bitter liquid, trying to cover up his disgust.  
  
It was dark in the room, the lights focused on stage, the greens and pinks outlining the girl's every curve, every flaw. No one seemed to notice the distinct scars beneath their breasts from their implants, everyone who was watching was too drunk to care. Suddenly the lights dimmed greatly, and a voice was heard over the loud speaker. 


	3. The First Night

Author's Note: Wow I REALLY don't know how good this chapter will be since I am so very sick right now. I think I have pink eye so I can barely see the computer screen. I have a horrible cough and sore throat and my ear is in a lot of pain. I also have a cold. I'm really falling apart here, I don't know what happened, maybe I'm allergic to something up here. It is my first spring in New England; maybe it's a sign, telling me to go back south. I can only hope. Anyway, enough about what I'm dealing with right now, I'm alternating chapters on my stories right now so it might be a while before each one is updated. I don't know if I'll continue Beauty Pageant because I just can't figure out who is the prettiest girl in all of FF. Tifa and Lenne look so much alike but Yuna (10-2) and Rikku (10-2) are also very beautiful. Sigh, what to do, what to do. Anyway, here's chapter three!  
  
  
  
Cloud sat patiently as he waited for the loud speaker to call the name of the next girl. He glanced at his watch; it was two minutes after eight, so perhaps it was time for that Tifa girl, or whatever her name was. He noticed around him that the room had filled up considerably. Men who were at the tables nearest to the stage had moved their tables until one edge brushed up against the side of the stage. All along the walls, horny men were lined up, standing on their tiptoes to see over the heads in front of them.  
  
Cloud couldn't wait to see this girl; he needed to know what all the hype was about. He just couldn't picture a stripper being so captivating that she could draw an audience of this magnitude.  
  
  
  
The lights had just dimmed. Tifa stood back stage, nervously waiting to hear her name called out. She could hear the crowd outside, already wildly drunk and giddy. She rocked up onto her toes repeatedly to up pump herself up for the night's show.  
  
She had seen the crowd from the corner of the stage. Tonight was always a busy night, but on that night it was extra busy. It seemed that the floor had been totally covered by bodies, anxious to see her perform.  
  
  
  
Cloud had to kneel on his barstool to see over the large number of people that stood between him and the stage. He peered out between shoulders and necks, trying to get a good view of what was happening on stage. Nothing. The lights were still dark and nothing could be seen or heard.  
  
There was a drum roll, and Cloud rolled his eyes. All this excitement for a lousy stripper? He couldn't believe it. Two spotlights from either side of the stage circled the audience, and then focused on the center of the stage, towards the back curtain.  
  
There she was. Dressed all in black leather, the most beautiful girl Cloud had ever seen. She was his vision exactly, long, flowing dark brown hair, large, dark almond shaped eyes. Her curves were voluptuous, her skin was flawless. She was the, in his mind's eye, the most perfect woman on earth. But Cloud had never figured that his perfect woman could be a stripper. Poor and desolate, yes, that's what he wanted, but a stripper? This startling revelation changed all his plans.  
  
She couldn't have a heart as pure and untainted as he had hoped for. She couldn't be innocent and sweet, that just wasn't the stereotypical stripper. He looked at her longingly, wanting to hear her voice, but looked around the room to se that he was acting no different from the other men in there.  
  
That hurt him. To finally find his dream girl but be unable to reach her. To be standing just yards from her and yet be so far away. How could he distinguish himself to her from the other men in the room? He was suddenly no different, no better, than the common man. It was exactly what he had wanted; yet now that he achieved it, he wished that he were someone else. He needed to stand out, to grab her attention, but from where he was sitting there was no way in hell that she would be able to see him.  
  
He concentrated on her again, eyeing her up and down, trying to find a flaw from his ideal. She wore a black leather halter-top that tightly clung to her skin and reached just beneath her breasts. It had a zipper from the collar to the hem and brought out the darkness in her eyes. Again she wore a black mini-skirt that didn't even cover half her bottom, and knee high black boots that laced up the front.  
  
She strutted out to center stage and spread her legs for defiant balance. She grasped the pole beside her and brought her knee up to it, spinning around it and leaning back, extending her hand out to the audience. The song playing was "Real Emotion" by Jade from Sweetbox.  
  
Tifa bent over at the waist and leaned out to the audience, bringing her hand up to the zipper on her top. Slowly, with her hips moving in a circular motion, she began to unzip her shirt, letting her breasts emerge freely. The catcalls and cheers roared throughout the room and she rolled her eyes, but with the lighting no one noticed.  
  
Cloud watched her as intently as the men around him. She appeared to be enjoying her job, and that infuriated him. He couldn't help her if she liked where she was in life. He wanted her to need him, not in a stalker- rapist sort of way, but in the way that a girlfriend needs her boyfriend. He wanted to take care of her, but suddenly he found himself in love with the same kind of girl he had vowed not to get attached to.  
  
He watched as she raised her arms above her head, shaking hips like a belly dancer. She pranced across the stage, swinging on each of the three poles as sexy as possible. This was the fastest music she ever danced to and was almost working up a sweat to keep up with the beat.  
  
Again she threw herself to the floor, crawling up onto the table in the center of her path, the men reaching to touch her and offer her gil. She kneeled up on it and raised her arms above her head, slowly coming down until her bottom nearly rested on the table, feeling the sides of her body with her hands.  
  
One man dared to reach up and place a gil between her lips. Though she wanted to bite his fingers off for treating her like that, she pretended to accept it graciously, like a dog. That's what they thought of her, she was a dog. She was a loyal, thoughtless, mindless, drone of a bitch that should come at her master's every beckon.  
  
She stood up on the table, letting the music take her over, and twisted her hips frantically. The men reached up on her legs, trying to pull her down to them. She placed her toe lightly into one man's throat, allowing him to see up her skirt, then pushed him back into his seat, elating the other men at the table.  
  
She could feel the cheap wood beneath her start to wobble with the men who were climbing up on it to reach her. Afraid to fall and look ungraceful she decided to push off. With a great effort she jumped off the table and did a back flip up onto the stage, landing on one knee with her head bowed.  
  
The table did not break beneath her light frame, but the men on it were all knocked back into their chairs. Tifa continued to spin from pole to pole, finally stopping on one side of the stage to give her little dance to a different section. She rubbed her hands over her breasts and down to her waist, resting her hands on her hips, then easing her skirt down over her thighs and letting it drop to her ankles.  
  
She stepped out of it and ran back to the center pole, jumping into it and wrapping one leg around it, spinning around it like a circus acrobat, with all the grace and ease of a ballerina. The men went wild and stood up to cheer. She landed with a spin on her heels and took a bow. Tonight had not been as much a strip tease as a dance routine. She had always wanted to dance and she finally found the perfect song to incorporate it into her performance.  
  
She waited until the lights dimmed on her and then quickly picked up her clothes and went back stage, taking a sigh of aggravated relief that her night was over, at least the dancing part was. Dan ran up to her in a sweat, he had obviously been moved by her performance and kept grasping her hand in his large, sweaty palm.  
  
"You were wonderful tonight, baby! Absolutely splendid! Your best performance ever!" He repeated, over and over.  
  
Tifa rolled her eyes at him and put her clothes back on. She wore the same zip-up tank top and skirt, but over her skirt she wore a half article, which wrapped around her hips and reached to the floor, covering only her left leg. She looked like she was dressed to kill as she returned to the audience floor, barely noticed.  
  
She made her way through the lust-driven crowd, towards the bar, where she worked every night after she danced. She wasn't usually bothered getting to the bar after she left the backstage area; the guys were already focused on the next dancer. She walked over seemingly unnoticed and began to take orders.  
  
The men seated at the bar barely looked at her when she asked them what they wanted. Only one man turned to face her when she spoke, and she regretted it. For the rest of the night he would not take his eyes off of her. He was a very attractive man though, she thought to herself, but still he was probably just like all the other men in the club, sleazy and horny.  
  
"What'll you have?" She asked politely, wiping a glass dry for him.  
  
As much as he concentrated on her he could not find a flaw in her from his perfect vision. He watched her every move, a little tipsy and feeling like a stalker, but she didn't seem to give a damn about his existence, which drove him insane.  
  
"Umm...how about a Red Canyon?" He asked, trying his hand at a harsher liquor.  
  
Tifa nodded and bent down below the bar to the fridge. She came back up and popped the top of the bottle off with her fingertips, watching it fly out into the audience. She laughed, amused with herself, hoping she hit some poor bastard in the eye. She slid the bottle over to Cloud without it tipping and spun around to complete her show.  
  
He was incredibly attractive, she now thought, and was trying to keep his attention on her, but she didn't want to really get to know him. She just wanted him to be her crush for the night. Tomorrow she would talk about him to the other strippers, and that would be the extent of her feelings for him. But something inside her told her that he was different from the other men, that he was foreign to them.  
  
"Thanks." He said, nervously lifting the bottle to toast her. She smiled and stretched her arms along the side of the bar, leaning in towards him to flirt.  
  
"That'll be fifteen gil." She said, innocently, trying to get him to focus on her face and not her breasts, even though she was teasing him with them.  
  
Cloud reached into his pocket and found the needed amount. He placed it in Tifa's palm and smiled at her. She blushed a little, as she never had to a patron, and put the gil in the cash register. The other men at the bar were still watching the dancers so no new drinks were being ordered. She saw Cloud cringe when he took a sip of the beer and giggled to herself, strolling over to him in the hopes of striking up a conversation.  
  
"Don't like the taste?" She asked, as kindly as she could. He looked up at her, embarrassed and shook his head.  
  
"No, no, it's great...I'm just," He looked down at the bar, "not much of a beer drinker." He added, blushing. Here was a girl who worked in a strip club and mixed drink, she would probably think he was a loser for not drinking beer, but he couldn't help himself. He wanted to be honest with her, to let her know that he was genuine and that he would not hurt her.  
  
"Oh really? Me neither, terrible stuff I think." Tifa replied, pointing to the beer. "Here, I can make it better for you." She turned away from him and grabbed a small bottle from the back cabinet. She brought it over to Cloud and poured it into his drink, raising her hand high into the air and letting the liquid flow effortlessly into the neck of the bottle.  
  
Cloud watched as the additive danced into his beer. It was as if she controlled it with her mind. The liquid arched into the bottle perfectly and he couldn't believe what a great magician she also was. He tried to look at the tiny bottle to figure out what she just put in his drink, but her hand was blocking the label. The lighting was terrible in the room so he could not even tell what color it was either.  
  
"What's that?" He asked skeptically with a raised eyebrow. Tifa realized that he was cautious and stepped away from him, smiling.  
  
"It's what I put in all my drinks when I want to taste something good." She cheered, grinning. Noticing the perplexed expression on Cloud's face she decided to elaborate. "It's just grape juice, I swear. Everyone around here drinks so I feel like a stranger not. But I hate the taste of alcohol so I just pour grape juice in it and that's all I taste!" She cooed, waiting for him to take a sip. "Try it, you'll like it."  
  
Cloud took another sip from the bottle. It was true, all he tasted was the sweet grape juice and he quickly found himself downing the entire bottle. He put the glass down on the table and held up his finger for another one.  
  
"Let's just start a tab." She teased as she mixed him another drink. "I haven't seen you around in here before, you new in town?" She asked him after he finished half of his new bottle.  
  
"Kind of." He said, trying to avoid the subject.  
  
He didn't want to tell her who he was, not yet anyway. He wanted to get to know her first, if that could even be possible, before he informed her of his status. He was glad that she didn't recognize him, that made it easier for him to let her know who he was on the inside.  
  
"Kind of? What do you mean? Do you not know?" She mused, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Cloud bowed his head and smiled. He wished he could tell her, but maybe that would frighten her away. After all, he couldn't even believe that she was actually talking to him; she had seemed so disinterested at first. He would have never thought that she would actually be a kind person, and one who hated alcohol at that.  
  
"I mean, yes. I am new in town, just got here today." He covered up his half-truth. She looked at him thoughtfully and tilted her head.  
  
"You don't waste any time hitting the strip clubs do you?" She joked, though in the back of her mind she was crushed to discover that he was, in fact, just like all the other men in her life.  
  
She thought he was different, but he wasn't. He had just gotten into town and instead of unpacking and settling he went out to find a cheap frill for the evening. She cursed herself for ever believing that such a man could be different from all the rest.  
  
"What?" Cloud was thrown by her question and he realized that he had said the wrong thing by the look of disgust on her face. "No, no, this is my first time in a strip club." He said, trying to sound sincere. It was his first time, but since he tried desperately to convince her he seemed like he was lying.  
  
Tifa looked at him in disbelief. Did he think she was stupid? A man didn't move into a new town and suddenly decide to go clubbing. Especially on his first night in a strange place. She was angry that he had lied and was lying to her.  
  
"Uh huh?" She said with a raised eyebrow and her hands on her hips. She knew he was lying through her teeth. She turned to walk to the other end of the bar but Cloud suddenly leaned over the counter, disturbing some of the other patrons.  
  
The moved their elbows as he leaned, looking at him in disgust. A moment later they returned to watching the dancers and forgot about the strange man on the counter.  
  
"Wait! I'm serious!" Cloud pleaded when she turned her back on him. She turned to face him and noticed the sincerity in his eyes.  
  
She walked back over to him and he sat down. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. Maybe he was telling the truth. She placed her elbows on the table and propped her head up on her fists, concentrating on his eyes to see if he was lying or not.  
  
"So you just moved into town? And the first thing you do is decide to try a strip club for the first time?" She said, accenting the difficulty she was having in believing him.  
  
"mmhmm." Cloud said eagerly, begging her to believe him. Tifa sighed and shrugged her shoulders, looking at him once again.  
  
"Why do I not believe you?" She asked him bitterly. He looked at her with saddened eyes.  
  
"I know it's weird, but...the way I've lived my life..." He scratched the back of his head as he spoke, "I haven't lived what you'd think was a 'normal' live" He made quotation marks with his fingers. Tifa looked at him with a skeptical eye. "I moved here thinking I'd try my hand at living normally."  
  
It made a little bit of sense, but Tifa still didn't completely trust him. She accepted his response and would continue to talk to him, but she felt that there was something he was hiding. And she was determined to find out just what that was.  
  
"But why come here?" She asked. Cloud looked at his hands as he twiddled his thumbs.  
  
"This was the first one I saw." He said with a shrug and an innocent smile. Tifa laughed at how cute he was.  
  
"We are the first one on the block." She mused, adding to his comment and letting him know she wasn't mad. Cloud took another sip from his mixed beer.  
  
"So why did you start...um...doing this?" He said, trying to further the conversation without insulting her.  
  
It was Tifa's turn to blush and look down. How could she tell him? She didn't want him to think that she was easy because of the fact that she thought that if she stripped she could get help getting into Midgar University.  
  
"Well..." She thought about how to say it. "I met Dan, he's the owner, at a martial arts class I was taking, and he said that...umm..." She couldn't look at him as she spoke, "that he would help me get into college if I worked for him." She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and her cheeks flushed. Cloud didn't know what to say, he had obviously hit a nerve.  
  
"When was that?" He asked, slowly, giving her ample time to respond. Her eyes widened like a lost puppy and a tear slid down her cheek.  
  
"A year ago..." She confessed, bowing her head, unable to look into his eyes, embarrassed for herself.  
  
Cloud could see the gentle rise and fall of her shoulders as she fought to hide the tears from him. He put a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her, but she flinched and he retreated. She looked up at him, her eyes dry but faint red streams ran down her face to her chin. She wiped her eyes and tried to regain her composure.  
  
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." She trailed, angry that she had just embarrassed herself in front of him.  
  
"Hey it's okay." Cloud said, trying to comfort her. "It's no big deal, we all make mistakes." He clenched his teeth and cringed, having said the wrong thing again. She shot him a glance of hurt and anger. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you..." He tried to apologize.  
  
Tifa stood back up and brushed her hair out of her face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, knowing her evening was turning out to be a disaster. She was bringing out the worst in him, and what's more, she cried in front of him. She had just met a man that fit her vision of a perfect man exactly, and she was ruining her chances.  
  
"It's okay, you didn't, I know I made the wrong choice..." She hung her head again, "I just really wanted to get into college." Again Cloud put his hand on her shoulder, but this time, she did not recede.  
  
"What college was it?" He asked, hoping he could help her. She glanced up into his eyes and swallowed back her emotions.  
  
"Midgar University." She could see his eyes light up with excitement at her response.  
  
"That's great! I can help you get in!" He exclaimed, fighting back the temptation to tell her that his father owned it.  
  
Again she gave him a skeptical look. This guy just couldn't stop lying, she thought. She sighed in disbelief and crossed her arms over her chest, curling the corner of her lip up and squinting one eye.  
  
"Yeah, right. Heard that before." She said, blowing a strand of hair out of her face.  
  
Did this guy really thing she was that dumb? She had just told him that Dan had taken advantage of her gullibility and now he was trying to do the same thing. She looked away from him and stomped her foot. Why were all the attractive men such jerks?  
  
"No, I'm serious though. My dad he...uh...works there." He said, trying not to give away too much information about himself. Tifa still didn't believe him.  
  
"I think I'll just try and get in on my own, I don't need another job." She sneered, looking him up and down.  
  
Cloud shook his head. He had never had to work so hard at gaining a woman's trust before. He knew that Tifa had to be street smart, and he was up for the challenge. Still, he wished that she believed him. But he couldn't tell her who he really was, he couldn't take the chance.  
  
"I'm not offering you a job, I'm not like that." He replied.  
  
"Then what are you like?" She asked quickly, in retaliation.  
  
"Well," He began, looking up at the ceiling innocently. "I'm kind, and romantic, and I enjoy long walks on the beach and candlelit dinners." He mused, bringing a smile to her lips.  
  
A patron on the other end of the bar called for her and she held up her index finger for Cloud to wait. She walked over and spoke to him for a minute, pretending to laugh at his lame joke and taking his come-ons in stride. She handed him the drink he ordered and returned to Cloud, smiling as if nothing had happened.  
  
"Long walks on the beach huh?" She mused, propping her chin on her fist. "Never been to a beach before." Cloud's jaw dropped.  
  
"Really? Never? I'll take you some time then." He assured her with a smile. She laughed and nodded.  
  
"Oh okay." She smiled, not really believing him. She looked at the clock on the back of the bar and noticed that she had lost track of the time by talking to him. "Oh wow, look at the time. It's time for me to go home!" She cheered, grinning happily.  
  
Cloud looked at his watched and noticed the time as well. It was nearly two in the morning. He and Tifa had been talking for hours, but it only felt like minutes. He needed more time with her, he wanted more time with her. She was amazing, and he didn't want to be without her.  
  
"Oh, I see." He said, looking down.  
  
Tifa didn't notice or hear him as she went to the back closet to grab her coat. She came back out to punch out and be on her way, smiling at Cloud. She didn't want to seem desperate but she really wanted to spend more time with him and get to know him. But being who she was she didn't want him to think that he would get a night with her and decided not to ask him anything. Instead, he made the first move.  
  
"Can I walk you home?" Cloud asked, with a pleading smile. Tifa laughed skeptically.  
  
"Sure." She said, trying to hide her excitement.  
  
She could feel the butterflies in her stomach swarm as he reached out his arm for her to take hold of. She looped her arm in his and allowed him to lead her down the street. She wasn't sure what to think as they walked down the icy city streets, whether he was genuine or whether he had something more sinister on his mind, but frankly, she didn't care. She really felt that she had struck a chord with this man and she couldn't find anything about him that led to her believing that he might hurt her in any way.  
  
They reached her apartment door and she turned around to look at him. He was so handsome, she thought as she gazed longingly into his cerulean eyes. She couldn't help herself but feel attached already, and she leaned in for a kiss, nonchalantly.  
  
"Well, goodnight." Cloud said with a wave, leaving her hanging in limbo. She nodded in slight disapproval and he held out his hand for her. He placed something in the palm of her hand and she didn't even bother to look at it yet. "My tab." He said, closing her hand around the gil and smiling, with a quick nod and a wink.  
  
He didn't want to seem too forward with her. He didn't want her to think that he was after something. It was a hard road for him to take, especially since she had been the one to lean in. But he was proud of himself nonetheless. Seeing a little hurt in her eyes as she turned to walk into her home, he sighed, wanting to say he was sorry, but she was already gone. He turned and walked down the street in the opposite direction to find a hotel to stay at for the night.  
  
  
  
Tifa walked into her apartment and sat down on the couch, still clutching the gil in her hand, the gil that he had given her. She would take it to work tomorrow and place in the cash register to come out even, even though no one ever checked.  
  
She unfolded her hand to count the gil and gasped. His bill had only been forty-five gil, but when she counted what she had in her hand, there was an extra thousand gil. She jumped up and raced out the door, into the bitter cold to try and catch him, to tell him that he made a mistake. But when she looked outside she saw no one, just the first few flakes of a winter's snow. She smiled as she counted it again and went back inside, no longer upset for the lingering kiss. 


	4. Lying To A Dream

Author's Note: Sorry it's taking so long to update each story. I have three going right now so I'm trying to juggle them, plus I have an idea in mind for another one that I may just make a one-shot. I'm not sure. Anyway, I'm feeling MUCH better, just can't get over this damn cough. Oh well, anyways, here's another of Barfly! P.S. Did anyone else cry at the ending of Final Fantasy X-2, I mean like, the good ending? Or even after with the Perfect ending? I finally got 100% today, it was the second time I had seen the good ending, but for some reason I bawled my eyes out. I guess its just cause I loved Tidus so much, and I look like Yuna (With Tifa's eyes) I just felt...enlightened. That game always gives me a sense of peace, for some reason. My fantasy guy is Tidus, I do so love Cloud, but Tan, fun-loving Tidus, he's just adorable. Plus, I finally found him. Does anyone watch One Tree Hill? Notice how much Lucas looks like Tidus? Yeah, I know he exists, I just gotta find him. Sigh, I'm such a hopeless romantic. Anyway, this chapter has a lot of emotions I'm going through right now, the movements and thoughts that Cloud and Tifa exhibit in this chapter are linked to Tidus and Yuna. Enjoy!  
  
  
  
Cloud moved uneasily in his sleep, groaning as he took his first breaths of the new day. At least he thought it was a new day, he couldn't be quite sure since it was still dark outside. The hammering in his head wouldn't stop, like an incessant phone, ringing and ringing to no end. He rolled over onto his stomach and grasped for his pillow, curling his body slightly.  
  
He had drunk too much last night. He remembered it well, he wasn't that drunk, but he did know he would have a hangover. A single thought shot through his head over and over again, like a bullet train. He needed to see her again; he needed to hear her sweet voice. He had only a month to spend with her before he'd have to return to upper Midgar and tell her the truth about who he was, but until then he wanted to make the most of his time with her.  
  
The ringing in his ears would not stop. He sat up and let his legs hang over the edge of the bed, the sheet resting ever so softly over his manhood. He remembered undressing in the hotel room, but had he been so tired that he passed out without changing? It was not like him, but he had to admit, regular beer did take a lot out of him. He leaned over and rubbed his eyes with his palms, trying to ease his throbbing headache.  
  
He wanted to be her knight in shining armor that would come and sweep her off her feet, and whisk her away to a better life. He just didn't want to scare her away. The girl of his dreams had walked, rather, danced, her way into his life, and he couldn't let her get away.  
  
Damn that ringing was getting annoying, he thought to himself as he walked into the bathroom to splash some cool water on his face. He leaned on the counter to look at himself in the mirror. How pathetic, he thought as he looked into his own weary eyes. He ran his fingers through his hair and grabbed a glass of water. He took it like a shot and slammed the glass back on the counter, finally realizing that the ringing sound was not his imagination.  
  
He darted over to his cell phone and answered it. He could hear his father's stern face on the other end and sighed. He knew that he was in trouble. What had he done now?  
  
"Son?" His father growled as he picked up the phone.  
  
"Yeah, pop?" Cloud said as neutral as possible, trying to hide any fear in his voice.  
  
"You been havin' fun down there?" Thaddeus inferred. Cloud raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Yeah...why?"  
  
"Well you better get your bony ass BACK up here at once, we got BIG problems, ya hear?" His father yelled, then hung up the phone without waiting for a reply.  
  
Cloud sat down on his bed again, trying to figure out what could have happened. His father seemed healthy, judging from his screams, so nothing could have happened to him. Maybe it was a financial problem. He couldn't be sure but it seemed like the family fortune was well taken care of.  
  
He lowered his head again. He had been there one day and already he had to leave. He wouldn't be able to see her again, wouldn't be able to say good-bye, or tell her the truth. Maybe it wasn't meant to be; maybe she wasn't really his dream girl, just a look alike.  
  
He slowly rose to his feet and walked over to his bag. He pulled out a pair of black Dickies that hung below his ass and a navy blue sleeveless turtleneck sweater. He pulled on his navy blue boxers and finished getting dressed. He combed his hair in his usual fashion, messy and spiky, and brushed his teeth.  
  
He walked outside and met the bitter cold. Winter cast its icy breath into his body and he shivered. He did not know what the cold was like. In upper Midgar, the weather was mostly sunny and warm, even in the winter. Here there was a fresh white powder on the ground and snowflakes falling from the sky. He pulled on his gloves and wrapped a red scarf around his neck. Lightly tinted sunglasses completed his ensemble, so that the snow wouldn't hit his eyes.  
  
With his bag slung over one shoulder he walked to the train station just outside of Midgar. He stood and waited for the upper plate train to come and sat looking at the attendant as he stood staring back. The man looked Cloud up and down with a sneer, wondering why he was leaving the lower plate to go back to the upper plate. No one from upper Midgar ever dared leave for the slums, and it was strange that such a rich heir, of all people, would be the one to brave the unknown.  
  
Cloud looked up at the sky as his train pulled in. He couldn't imagine what it was like not ever having seen the sky. He wondered what Tifa would say if she saw it again. He took one last look at the gate leading to the slums and sighed, then turned and stepped onto the train. He took a seat by the window and breathed in the warm air. He watched as the slums became further and further away from him, along with the girl he had just met.  
  
His thoughts kept coming back to her. What would she think if he just up and left her? When would she find out and how would she feel? He worried that he would hurt her without even trying. It was the last thing he ever wanted to do. The other girls he was used to, he could hurt them, but not this one, not Tifa.  
  
He looked down at his hands in his lap as the train pulled into the station. He hoped that whatever his father wanted would not last long so that he could see Tifa tonight. He wanted to talk to her some more, let her know the real him, minus the heir part.  
  
He stepped off the train and looked up into the blinding sun. Tifa hadn't seen sun in over a year, and he wanted to show it to her. He walked down the streets with his hands in his pockets, staring at the ground. He could hear whistles and the calls of his name as he continued toward his home. It was no different than any other day; people were always calling out to him on the streets. Every man wanted to be his best friend, and every woman wanted to be with him.  
  
He opened his front door and felt the strong scent of citrus as he entered his house. The maid had been over-cleaning again. She did that from time to time whenever Cloud's father insulted her. She would get so upset and just have to take her mind off the situation by burying herself in her work. Cloud wanted to walk over to her and put his hand on her shoulder for reassurance, but thought better of it. Mia had always hated him; she scowled at him every time he tried to talk to her.  
  
He walked on down the hall and up the staircase. A soft breeze was blowing through the airy home that kissed his skin with ease. Sheer curtains blew in the wind gently, welcoming viewer's with open arms. Cloud stopped at the solid oak doors that loomed above his head. He knocked on them to alert his father of his presence.  
  
"Cloud? Get in here." His father ordered, without even saying hello.  
  
Cloud walked in and was greeted by the stone cold stares of his father and his father's attorneys. They were circled around his desk like a pack of hungry vultures, eyeing their prey and about to feast. Cloud walked slowly up to his father, sensing that something drastic was about to be done, and from what he could gather of the atmosphere, it involved him.  
  
"Did you have a good time last night?" He father asked, a sneering hidden agenda as his motive. Cloud looked at him suspiciously, as if he were about to be ensnared in a trap. He didn't know what he had done, but he figured that his father had changed his mind about letting him have his own life, and had found a legal way to keep him from trying to find one of his own.  
  
"...Yes?" Cloud said, in a deep voice, trying to show his confidence. He would not be trapped, he was beyond his father's mind games, he could play them as well.  
  
"I see, I see. Would you mind telling me what you did last night?" His father pried, innocently.  
  
"Nothing. I had dinner, and met with a friend." Cloud lied, not knowing where this was leading.  
  
"Oh, alright. Then how do you explain this?" Thaddeus threw down a newspaper onto the desk and shoved it under Cloud's nose.  
  
Cloud looked at it with an open mouth. There, splashed across the daily paper, in large block letters, scanned the words 'Heir's Gone Wild', with a picture of him sitting at the bar of the Sevenstone Strip Club. Cloud quickly read through the article, astonished to learn that a reporter had seen him talking to Tifa. The article stated that he had had a wild night on the town, gone to a strip club, and brought one of the "whores" to home with him. One the next page was a picture of he and Tifa walking together, with the caption 'Lady's Man Looks For One Night Tryst Before Inheritance'.  
  
Cloud couldn't believe it. Now the world knew where he had been, and now Tifa would find out in the most insulting way who he actually was. He bowed his head and sighed, pretending to erase the whole event.  
  
"Dad...I..." Was all he could say, he couldn't even look up at his father, couldn't show him the hurt in his eyes.  
  
"Have some explaining to do? I know, so get on with it." Thaddeus snarled, leaning over his desk and glaring at his son. Cloud looked up through childish eyes, afraid of his father's wrath.  
  
He had grown up, he no longer was afraid to be sent to his room, or go to bed without desert like he was when he was a kid. Now his father had the ability to take away his future, to deny his inheritance. And if he so wanted to, Thaddeus could have Tifa killed in order to protect the family.  
  
Cloud lowered his head again. He didn't want that. He didn't want Tifa to get hurt, he wouldn't allow it. He stood up defiantly and looked at his father straight in the eye. He leaned across the table to meet his father's impending stare and gritted his teeth. He would not be beaten.  
  
"I went to a strip club." Cloud bowed his head, then shook it and raised it up to his father's level. He squinted his eyes into a glare and flared his nostrils, like a beast about to hunt. "And I talked to one of the strippers." He stood up and looked at all the lawyers. "That's all. That's it. I didn't sleep with her, I didn't disgrace the family, I didn't do anything!" He ended by yelling. His father stood up as well and stuck out his chin.  
  
"It doesn't matter what you did or didn't do, you could have killed her for all I care!" His father roared, shaking his fist. "What matters is what the press says you did! We have an image, Cloud!" He yelled, slamming his fist against the mahogany desk. "We have a reputation! And if you taint that, we lose the college."  
  
Cloud turned to the side and laughed. Many business owners and world leaders had bad reputations, but that didn't mean they would lose their company or country. He turned back to give his father a serious look, and shook his head.  
  
"Come on, pop. We won't lose the college because of what some asshole wrote about me in a two-bit newspaper." Thaddeus stood his ground and sighed, shaking his head.  
  
"No, Cloud, you're wrong. A college is different than owning a company. A tainted college record goes to parents. They won't pay to send their children there, and kids don't have the money to pay, we lose business. We lose students, we lose sponsors, if we lose sponsors, we LOSE the college!" He bellowed, pounding his fist once again.  
  
Cloud took a step back and parted his lips. He didn't know what to say, he didn't think that him having fun for one night would have such terrible consequences. He didn't care about his fortune anymore, even if he lost the college he still had enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life. No, his only thoughts were of what would happen to Tifa. He shook his head to dismiss the thought as his father snapped his fingers.  
  
"Now you listen to me son, and you listen good." Thaddeus preached, pointing a fatherly finger in Cloud's direction. "We're gonna have a talk with the press, don't worry the lawyers will handle that, and we'll get this whole thing straightened out. We'll get our sponsors and our supporters back and this whole thing will just blow over. Now in the meantime, you gotta go out there and tell the media that it was a one time thing and you're sorry and it won't happen again, tell 'em you'll never see the girl again, and that's that!" Thaddeus proposed, sternly and dignified.  
  
Cloud looked away from him. This wasn't what he wanted. There had to be some other way to get the media off his back. He couldn't go on television and apologize for something that he wasn't sorry for. He couldn't say that Tifa was a one time 'thing' because he wanted to see her so badly. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, a tear rolling down the cheek that was turned from his father.  
  
"No dad. I won't do it." He closed his eyes again and looked up at the ceiling. His mother would understand, if she were still alive. Thaddeus stared at Cloud, his mouth agape and his brow furrowed, an anger flowing through his blood that could wipe out time.  
  
"Why not?" His father sneered. Cloud looked back at him and gave a little love struck smile.  
  
"Because...I wanna see her again." Cloud thought about how defiant he was acting. It pleased him to know that he was not afraid to stand up to his father and lawyers. He thought about seeing Tifa again, and telling her that he would give everything up just for her.  
  
But what if that frightened her? What if she found out who he was but didn't return the feeling? He couldn't think about that, it was the here, and now that was important, not the what ifs. He nodded his head once, as if to prove to himself that he just said what he had said. His smile quickly faded when he saw his father's hard look of disgust.  
  
"Because why? You think you're in love? With a stripper?" He rolled his head back and laughed. "You've met her, how many times? Oh that's right, once, and suddenly you want to go off and marry her?"  
  
"I never said marry..." Cloud said, looking away again.  
  
"So she's good enough to throw away an empire for, but not good enough for marriage? You've got a lot of nerve, kid." His father hadn't called him 'kid' since grade school. "Coming in here, acting all tough, thinking you like some little slut. And for what? So she can give you a disease, you can knock her up and then you'll part, both sore and broken?"  
  
Cloud clenched his hands into fists by his side and gritted his teeth. His father had no right to call Tifa a slut, just because she was a stripper. But Cloud didn't know how many men she had slept with, if any. She seemed pure at heart and sincerely didn't like her job. She wasn't fond of what she was, and it wasn't what she had ever wanted to be.  
  
"You're wrong, dad." Cloud growled, breathing heavy and deep. "Tifa..."  
  
"Oh good, you know her name, congratulations." His father teased, waving his hands in the air. His expression turned serious and he flared his nostrils. "You're soul mates." Cloud glared at him, insulted.  
  
"Tifa, she's not like other strippers. That's not what she wants to be..." He trailed off, knowing that a fresh argument was to ensue.  
  
"Aww, is that what she told you? She wants to go to college but got lost along the way? I'm surprised at your stupidity, Cloud. She hooked you in like a sucker. Was she that beautiful? She gave a sob story and you came running? Well guess what, she lied. She's just after your money, they all are, so pick one that a little more reputable, will ya?" Thaddeus snarled, once again.  
  
Cloud looked up at his father, and shook his head. He could not believe that his own father was being so close-minded. He turned away and closed his eyes, wishing for it all to disappear. He didn't want things to end this way. But what if his father was right? What Tifa had been lying to him? She seemed sincere, but any girl could pretend to be sincere. He just wondered...He needed to see her again, to ask her.  
  
"No, I want to see her again." He shook his head.  
  
"Cloud, please listen, the only way that we can get her out of this is by you letting her go." Cloud bowed his head to think about it. "You need to tell the press that it was just a one-night stand. Go on." His father urged.  
  
Cloud just kept shaking his head. This wasn't what he wanted; he kept to saying to himself. He felt his legs move out beneath him, running, running away. How could one night with one girl do so much to him? He ran outside, around the pool and towards the wall. He slammed into it with all his might, not really thinking. Maybe he could break through it, but he knew he couldn't. He rest his hands on the ledge and looked out to the mountains.  
  
He wanted to see her again, but if he couldn't, then...he wanted her to be safe. She didn't need the negative publicity, not on account of him, that wasn't fair to her. He knew what he had to do, even if it was so hard. He lowered his head and stared at the ledge. He could feel the presence of his father come up beside him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but he shook him off. Thaddeus looked out at the mountains, giving a deep and heavy sigh.  
  
"I know it's hard son, but..." His father continued to gaze out at the mountains. "It's really for the best." Thaddeus gave him a pat on the shoulder and walked back into the mansion, leaving Cloud with his thoughts.  
  
He wasn't a child anymore. He didn't need to take orders from anyone. He didn't have to do anything he didn't want to do. But if what he needed to do would protect someone else then...he needed to do it. He barely knew her, he didn't know the first thing about her, so why was this so difficult? Why couldn't he just walk away? It was going to be hard, but in the long run, it would be best...for her. He just hoped she would understand. He leaned over the ledge and closed his eyes, letting the breeze touch his face, his hair blowing gently in its caress.  
  
  
  
Tifa woke up with a new hope. If one day could go so well, couldn't another? She opened her eyes and smiled. Today would be their reunion. She would get to see him again today. She couldn't wait to go to work for once in her life.  
  
She had stayed up all night working on a new routine, just for him. Hopefully he would enjoy it. He made her actually want to succeed in her line of work. Tonight she would dance like he was the only one in the room. She was going to shop for a new costume to alter, something that would give her a loose idea, so that she could tear it apart and make it 'suitable'.  
  
She got dressed in a pair of faded denim jeans and a tiny white t- shirt. With a smile on her face, for once, she left her home and headed out into the cold. The frost hit her shoulders but she didn't feel it. She had her new song in her heart, and butterflies in her stomach.  
  
She found her fabrics and costume materials easily since she knew exactly what she wanted. Not too often did she ever make her own costume, but today she felt very compelled to do so. As she walked home however, she began to take notice at the heightened number of people staring at her. She was used to men gawking everyday, but something seemed odd on this day. Women were staring too, more scrupulously than usual.  
  
She dismissed the thought and continued home, chalking it up to her new found love of life. She spent her remaining time that day creating her costume for the evening. When she finished she tossed it in her bag, took a shower, and put on her stage makeup. She then decided, out of nowhere, to go to work a little early, just to make sure that everything would be perfect for him.  
  
She arrived in a cheerful mood, smiling and waving to everyone. But in return she received nothing but hardened glares. Usually the other girls at least pretended to be civil to her when she entered, sometimes even friendly, but today, they were harsh. With a questioning look she walked over to the newest stripper, Audra.  
  
"What's going on?" Tifa asked. Audra looked her up and down and sucked in the corners of her mouth, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"You're what's wrong!" She stated, handing Tifa a newspaper. "You're one damn lucky bitch!"  
  
Tifa looked at the paper and saw the same picture and article that Cloud had seen. Her optimism turned to a look of being crushed. She clutched the paper to her breast and looked at the floor. She didn't understand, why didn't he tell her who he was? When she thought back, she had never asked him for his name. But it all made sense, his father working at Midgar University, the fact that he looked too good for this town, it all added up right in front of her. Why didn't she see it coming?  
  
"That's...all I was to him?" She asked quietly, almost to herself. Audra and the other strippers snatched the paper from her and nodded, pouting their lips.  
  
"Mmhmm. He played you like a fool. But damn, he's so hot! How was he?" Audra gave a coy smile and elbowed Tifa. The brunette just stared back at her, uncertain.  
  
"What?" She asked, not really paying attention to what was being said.  
  
"How was he in bed?" Another stripper chimed in. Tifa's cheeks reddened.  
  
"Oh, we didn't..." She began, but was cut off.  
  
"Riiiiight. Sure ya didn't." Audra added with a wink. Tifa rolled her eyes.  
  
She walked away, towards the dressing room. She couldn't let the other girls see her cry. But maybe, just maybe, he didn't think of her as a tryst, that perhaps he did want to see her again. She stopped and looked at the ground, then turned back to the other strippers, who were gathered around the newspaper and leaning on the counter, reading it.  
  
"Hey, hey girls. Come quick, he's about to give a speech!" One of the other strippers urged, motioning for the other girls to join her.  
  
There was a little T.V. behind the bar that they used to turn on during slow nights, so men could keep track of the scores of their favorite sports game. She had it flipped to the news, one of the only clear channels they could get. The other strippers went running, crowding around the television like a pack of hungry wolves. Audra waved Tifa over.  
  
"Come on, girl. It's your man!"  
  
Tifa ran over, wiping her tears. The other girls moved to form a space for her up front, something they would have never done in the past. The group watched in awe as Cloud Strife walked to the podium in front of the press. About twenty different microphones were in front of him, each with a different cover on it corresponding to a different news station. Cameras flashed in the difference as the media closed in on him.  
  
Cloud stood at the podium and sighed. This was going to be the most difficult thing he had ever done. He was going to lie on camera, and what's worse; he was going to lose the first girl he had ever met that meant something to him. He lowered his head for a moment, then looked up and cleared his throat.  
  
"Ladies and gentleman of the media, I thank you all for coming. I know that everyone out there watching has read the papers, or watched the news, but I'm here, standing before you to put an end to it all." He looked down and closed his eyes, sighing deep. "What happened last night between that stripper and I," The girls all started cheering and hugging Tifa. "It was a one time thing. It was a mistake and I was wrong to do it and I'm sorry if I inconvenienced anyone." He looked down again, searching for the words. "She...is nothing to me and I'll never see her again. I made a stupid decision and I hope that you all can forgive me. I'm sorry." He hung his head again, not to feign guilt, but so that the media wouldn't see the tears in his eyes. He stepped down from the podium and walked away.  
  
Tifa's lips parted. She gazed at the floor, as if it would tell her something different, and closed her eyes as the tears fell freely. She looked up at the ceiling as the other strippers got up and left quietly, leaving her alone.  
  
She remained wedged behind the bar for another hour; no one dared go near her. She was tired of being hurt by men. She was tired of being lied to and losing people. She was tired of being treated like dirt. She didn't want this life, or this job.  
  
She rolled her head to look towards the front door. She could run away, leave all this behind. She had nothing in this city, never had and now she never would. Her chances of getting into Midgar U were slashed, with what had just happened between her and the soon-to-be owner, she could never get accepted.  
  
She brought her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs, sobbing openly. How could she be so stupid? How could she let herself get attached to a man so quickly and easily? She never even knew his name and she had gotten attached to him. She could kill herself for being so naïve.  
  
So this was it, she thought. Her last straw. She didn't need this anymore, couldn't take it anymore. She wanted so desperately to leave. She had one day of happiness, just one. It should have been enough for her, but it wasn't. Being hurt by someone never got any easier for her. Her parents, past boyfriends, and now him. The one person she thought could rescue her from her dismal existence. She thought he would be the person to expunge all her fears and doubts.  
  
Dan walked up to her and kneeled down beside her. He tilted his head and frowned, trying his best to show her some compassion. But she knew that he didn't care, or even understand. He lifted her chin to gaze into her glossy eyes, and wiped the tears from her face. He was trying to seem nice, but she knew he was only acting that way so that she would dance. He was so predictable. She looked up at him with a fiercely determined stare.  
  
"I want to go." She stated, searching his eyes for some form of understanding. She found none and exhaled, resting her chin on her knees and staring straight forward.  
  
"I know, I know you do. But you know you can't. Where will you go? You have no money; you'll have no job and no way to get there. Plus, he was just a guy, and there are plenty of them in the world, believe me." He said with a chuckle. Tifa blinked and looked at him again.  
  
"You're wrong. I can leave. There's nothing you can do to stop me." And she looked forward again, causing him to laugh harder. "You'll see." Was all she said. She smiled to herself as he got up and left.  
  
Dan returned a few minutes later to go over the night's agenda with Tifa. He knew she would never leave; he had too good a hold on her for that. She wanted to get into that college, and now he was her only hope. He walked over to the bar and peeked behind it, hoping to surprise her. But there was nothing. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach as he rushed to find her, racing all around the building like a madman. None of the other strippers had seen her since the news program. With his greatest fear confirmed he ran outside the door and looked down the streets. Nothing. He screamed her name and collapsed to the ground, a shadow of a man. His business was ruined. She was gone. 


	5. Avoiding Your Heart

Author's Note: Sorry it's taking so long to update each story but I have so many going on right now. Well I just posted "Of You" which should hopefully have cured my depression. You all should read it; it actually made me cry as I wrote it. Anyway, Victim is still going strong and I should post the next chapter of that soon. Also Switched will continue, despite a couple of negative reviews. I don't think it was the bad, or that confusing but...you all did so I will try to clear up the confusion in the next chapter. I worked the past three days in a row so that's why it is taking so long to update. Sting was in town, and last night was Chicago. Not big shows, but still I was there for about seven hours. Good chunk of my day gone right there. Plus, with my depression, I was transfixed on Final Fantasy X-2. I updated Survivor, I think it deserves more reviews, its really one of my best works. I also wrote Of You, which details the end of the game from Yuna's point of view. I think I'm good to go on Final Fantasy Seven again though, so yes...I'm back! My heart is fleeting but...I'm back. Oh also, for the most part I think, from now on...Tifa's wardrobe will come from FFX2, just in case you all are wondering what the hell she is wearing!  
  
  
  
Her bags were packed. She was really leaving this time. She was going...home. She was going back to Nibelheim, to be with her father. She didn't know what she would do when she got there, how she would make a living, but she knew that she was better off there than Midgar.  
  
She was waiting for the train. Tears streamed down her face as she looked down the tracks, waiting for the locomotive to come and whisk her away. She wanted to leave this place. There were so many bad memories here. Memories of a job she never wanted...memories of Cloud.  
  
Cloud, she sneered at his name. She meant nothing to him, but he meant everything to her. She didn't do anything with him, so how could she say that he used her? He hadn't done anything to her...except give her an extra thousand gil. She would use that money to get as far away from that town as possible. She wanted to go home. She hadn't even spoken to her father since she had become a stripper, too embarrassed to face him, to confront him. How could she tell him what she was? No father could accept his daughter after such a revelation. She only hoped that he hadn't read the papers or watched the news and saw her story.  
  
She could see the train off in the distance. Smoke was billowing from the engine and she could hear the distinct cry of its whistle. It stopped in front of her, the wind disturbed by its presence, blowing against her skin and giving her goose bumps. She was wearing a pair of dark denim shorts that let the bottom of her ass show. She had on a white string tank top with pink lace along the bottom. Her hair was in its usual low ponytail, and she wore black knee-high lace-up boots. Despite her description, she did not look like a whore.  
  
She stepped into the awaiting train and took a seat by the window, just as Cloud had done when he had left. She leaned her head against the window and watched as the city she had gone to with so much hope, so much promise, disappeared from her view. She had thought that her life would be so much better by moving there, but she was wrong. The only thing she was left with, as the train fled from the station, was regret.  
  
She felt her eyes close as she fell into a fitful sleep. She had not seen the sky yet. It was still dark when she had fallen asleep and she knew that she had still been under the plate. She dreamed of him. He was...with her, at the bar. She wasn't dancing, she was working behind the bar, serving him a drink. They were both smiling and laughing. But then, he left...just got up and walked out the door, never to return.  
  
She woke up startled. There was a tear running down her cheek. She shook her head, a bitterness inside of her that she had never felt before. He had lied to her, and she hated him for it. Or at least, she wanted to hate him. She knew that she could never despise him, but for now, anger seemed the easiest way to push him from her mind.  
  
The train was over water. There was a bridge built between the continents so that trains could cross easily and cargo could get to its destination faster, without having to be loaded onto a boat and ferried. Tifa looked up at the sky. It was so bright and clear; she had forgotten what it was like. She squinted her eyes because of the sun's brightness. She smiled; she hadn't realized just how much she missed natural light.  
  
She gazed up into it for hours, until she could see the faint outline of Nibelheim in the distance. She laughed to herself; she was finally home, where she belonged. She could feel the train slow beneath her as it came to a stop at the Nibelheim station. She closed her eyes and smiled, breathing in the first breath of her hometown for over a year. She stepped off the train, a new outlook on life, and walked towards her old home.  
  
Her peaceful happiness was shattered when she saw the glares and menacing stares from her neighbors. She lowered her head, knowing that they had heard the news. They had found out what she was and what she had done for the past year. She had disgraced her family and her hometown. She only hoped that her father didn't know. He was the one person she had left on the planet, and she couldn't stand to lose him.  
  
She ran inside her home, it was never locked, and threw her luggage down behind the door. She ran into the kitchen, but no one was there. She walked to the living room and leaned on the doorframe, but no one was there either. Strange, she thought, he must be upstairs. She ran up the staircase and paused to look at her old room. It had been untouched since she had left. The bed was still made and everything was in its place. She walked into her father's bedroom and gasped.  
  
He was lying there, unable to move. She rushed over to him and kneeled beside him. His skin was ashen and his eyes were glossy. His head rolled to look at her and a faint smile formed on his lips, with a sparkle in his eye. Tifa kissed his forehead and took his hand in hers.  
  
"I'm home, dad." She said, smiling and trying to hide the tears in her eyes. Her father looked up at her.  
  
"I...wanted to see you again..." He managed to speak.  
  
Tifa bowed her head. Her father was not well and he would not be with her much longer. It pained her to think about losing him. He meant so much to her, especially now, when she had lost everything. She couldn't bear losing him, not now, not when she was finally home.  
  
"I know dad, don't worry, I'm here." She said, stroking his face softly. He looked so peaceful, now that she had returned.  
  
She clasped his hand in hers as his smile faded. She could feel her heart sink as she saw his eyes close. His soul was slipping away from hers, and he could no longer hear her. She closed her eyes as tears began to flow. He was dead, and she was alone. She had come home to find herself, to be loved by someone, to have someone with her, and now...he was dead. She lowered her head onto his chest and sobbed for what seemed like an eternity. She had lost...everything. What do you do when you have nothing left to live for?  
  
  
  
The entire town was gathered in the small cemetery to mourn the death of Tifa's father. She wore a simple, sleeveless, V-neck black dress that fell below her knees. She wore high heels and a large round black hat with a veil over her face. She knew that she was being stared at by the townspeople. They were giving her dirty looks, cursing her for being what she was.  
  
She looked down at the ground, at the grass beneath her feet. Her hair was flowing all around her in the wind, letting her hide her pain behind it. Tears were sliding down her face as she listened to the words said about her father. First Cloud, and now this, it was getting too hard for her to live. But she couldn't end her life; she just needed to start over. She had thought Nibelheim would be the place to do that but she was wrong. She was not welcome there any longer, but she didn't know where else to go.  
  
She watched as, one by one, the townspeople stepped up to her father's casket and wept. She watched as each of them left, having stayed silently by her side to pray for him. She alone remained after they had all gone. She dropped to her knees beside her father's tombstone, placing her face in her hands.  
  
How could this have happened? She thought. How could she have messed up her life so much? She knew that she had made some bad choices in life, but everyone did, it was just a part of living, but why did hers end up ruining everything? Everything in her life was destroyed, and she needed to begin picking up the shards to put them back together again, but how? Where could she start? She had no other family and no friends...she was alone. For the first time it had hit her...she was completely and utterly alone. She felt abandoned and bitter. Bitter for having been dealt such a terrible card at life. Bitter that now, even her father had left her.  
  
She stood up and wiped the tears from her face. She closed her eyes and looked up at the sky, saying a final farewell to her father. She placed a single red rose on top of his grave and turned to walk away, slowly. Her life was lying in pieces, right before her eyes, crumbling, right before her eyes.  
  
She walked home, avoiding eye contact with her neighbors who had disowned her. She entered the now empty house and went straight to her old room. She sat down on the bed and hugged her old teddy bear. She clutched it to her chest and sobbed. How could life treat her this way?  
  
  
  
Tifa woke up with an idea. She couldn't call it a smart one, but at least she had a new ambition. It had been several days since her father's funeral, and she had a new plan. Her father had been one of the wealthiest men in town, and she had inherited quite a large sum of money, nowhere near enough to get her life on track, but it was a good start.  
  
She was going to Junon. She would set up her own bar there, and she would be the entertainment. She would not strip; she didn't feel that she needed to. Instead, she would dance and sing. It had been something she had always wanted to do; she just hoped that she would be able to make a living off of it.  
  
Again she boarded a train, but this time, not to escape a shattered dream. No, this time she would make something of herself, and not look back. She smiled as she felt herself being pulled away from a nightmare, and looked ahead into the future. She felt like things might turn up for her after all.  
  
But she couldn't stop thinking about him. Cloud had been on her mind since she had met him, and she couldn't let him go. Even if he didn't care about her...she would always remember him. She couldn't forget the way he made her feel, like she was a real person, not just an object. She had only spoken with him once, but that one time was enough to satisfy her for life.  
  
  
  
Cloud hadn't slept for days. Thick dark circles had formed under his eyes from his lack of sleep. He sat up in bed, the room all around him was dark, just a thin stream of light peered in through the bottom of his window shade, casting the moon's glare down upon his floor.  
  
He rubbed his face with his hands, trying to ease his suffering. He couldn't stop thinking about her and his guilt was driving him crazy. How could he have done that to her? How could he have lied to her, embarrassed her in front of the whole world, just to save himself? He had told himself over and over again that he had done that to save her, but was he really helping her? Was crushing her really the best thing for her? Even in the long run he couldn't see the benefits to her.  
  
He felt dirty from all his guilt. He stepped out of bed, taking a moment to brush his hair out of his face. He stood up and yawned, stretching his hands over his head, then walked wearily into his own private bathroom. He had not slept, but he was so tired he felt like he could pass out, but still he knew that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep. Guilt was something a person couldn't hide, it could only fester inside of someone until they snapped.  
  
He turned on the water and stepped in the shower, letting the cool liquid splash across his face. No matter how hard he tried, he could not feel clean. He couldn't count the number of times he had bathed in the past week; the number was far too great. He turned the water off and stepped out, grabbing a towel and drying himself off. When he finished he wrapped the towel around his waist and walked over to the mirror, looking into it accusingly.  
  
"What have I done?" He asked himself, running his fingers through his messy hair.  
  
He bowed his head and closed his eyes. The world had already turned a cheek towards what had happened, but he couldn't let it go. He wouldn't allow himself to accept the fact that he could not see her again. And even if he could...there was no way she would forgive him for what he had done.  
  
He wanted to see her again, but he knew that was impossible. His father practically had him under lock and key, there was no way out. Just going out for a walk brought about dozens of questions. He was screwed. He hadn't wanted to admit it, but he had fucked up his life, but why did he have to take someone down with him?  
  
Tifa didn't deserve that. He should never have lied to the media, never should have told him that she was nothing. She was definitely something alright; she had changed his life in a way he had never thought possible. They didn't have much of a conversation the night he had met her, but something about him had opened his eyes.  
  
There was more to life than money and power. There were real people, beyond the confines of his safe suburban home. There were real people who had to work very hard to try and make a living, even if their job was something they despised. He couldn't stand to think of Tifa, working her life away at a job she hated, being gawked at by horny men who could care less if she had a brain in her skull.  
  
He strolled out to his balcony, letting the crisp night breeze catch his hair. He leaned against the railing and looked out into the mountains. He looked up at the midnight sky, barely any stars could ever be seen from where he lived, too many lights and too much power being used. He imagined where Tifa was, trapped behind a bar after another performance. What would she do if she saw the stars again?  
  
He thought about her for a long time. He thought about her long flowing hair, about her dark chocolate eyes, and her milky soft skin. He thought about how perfect she was, in every way. He thought about her smile, how she laughed, and how she looked when she was angry with him. He could never tell her now, but when she thought he was lying, and her face scrunched up, he wanted to laugh, not because of the way she looked, but how cute she was when she was mad.  
  
He lowered his head and slumped his shoulders. He knew what he had to do. He needed to find her, to apologize to her. He needed to know if she could forgive him, if she would want to return to the upper plate to live with him. Maybe not live with him, but start a new life in upper Midgar. He wanted to help her get into college, into Midgar University, but mostly...he wanted to be with her.  
  
He nodded his head and looked up. He had decided. He would leave tonight, while his father was asleep. He walked back into his bedroom and removed his towel, tossing it to the floor. He pulled on a pair of boxers, and some very dark denim shorts that reached beneath his knee. He put on a yellow T-shirt with some writing on it, and put on his favorite yellow sneakers. He put on his trademark sunglasses and backed his bags once again.  
  
He didn't stop to look back this time, not until he was seated in the train. Looking back was a sign of uncertainty, and he had none. He was prepared to leave for good this time, and had not even left a note, only an empty room and an open balcony door. His spirit lifted as he heard the conductor call the train to a halt. He stepped out of the door and ran to catch up to a late worker, maybe the same one who had let him in lower Midgar the last time he was there, he couldn't be sure.  
  
He checked his watch; it was nearly one in the morning. She should still be working and he needed to tell her how sorry he was, and hoped that she would forgive him. He needed to fill the void that had been left in his heart since he returned home. He couldn't explain the hold that this girl had on him, and she didn't even know it.  
  
He took off his sunglasses as he ran down the street, towards the 'Wall Market'. He stopped in the place that he had stood when he had first seen her marquee. There was no line outside the door, and no lights on, only a dim bulb barely visible from the street. Cloud walked inside. All the windows were broken and old flyers and debris littered the ground out front. He walked up to the front door, which was boarded shut. He managed to force his way inside, knowing that what he was looking for would not be there.  
  
The bar had been emptied, more garbage lined the floor inside, and there were a few chairs and tables left, fallen over and forgotten. He stepped slowly towards the light in the back of the room, where the dressing room had once been. The stage had an eerie feeling to it, like ghosts from a haunted house were there. He walked into the abandoned dressing room, no longer knowing what he was looking for. He knew that Tifa wasn't there, but he needed to know where she was.  
  
He found a large man huddled in a corner behind a desk in an office. Cloud knocked on the already open door, and the man flinched. He looked at Cloud, holding his arms to his face as if he were about to be attacked. Cloud could tell that he had been crying from the red streams running down his cheeks. He got up, trying to control himself. He nodded to Cloud, knowing right away who he was and why he was there, call it an unspoken bond, but he had a severe disdain for the younger man.  
  
"Hi." He managed to breathe out. Cloud could tell that the man hated him, and he knew that it was somehow his fault that his business was ruined.  
  
"I know I don't have to ask but...what happened?" Cloud questioned, looking around the broken office. There were cracks along every wall, and the ceiling was leaking.  
  
"What happened? You're asking me what happened? You! That's what happened!" The man became enraged, and threw the handkerchief he had been using to wipe his eyes with down onto the desk, stepping up to Cloud. He was much shorter than the younger blonde, but he weighed probably three times as much. Cloud took a step; he hadn't gone there to fight.  
  
"What did I do?" He asked, defiantly. Dan laughed maniacally.  
  
"What didn't you do!" He yelled. Cloud shook his head and sighed. He really didn't want to fight this man, but if he had to, he would defend himself. "You ruined me! You crushed my best dancer! You destroyed my business, my life!" Dan continued to roar.  
  
Cloud closed his eyes and lowered his head. Now, not only had he broken Tifa's heart, but he had destroyed someone else's livelihood and only means of support. Not that he felt bad for Dan, he deserved it for trapping Tifa the way that he did. He looked back into the man's eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry...where is she?" He said. Dan's anger softened, and his shoulders slumped.  
  
"I don't know." He said, looking away. "She just...left, no one's seen her since..."  
  
He couldn't hide his pain anymore. The weakened man leaned over his desk and began to weep again. Cloud curled the corner of his mouth in disgust. It was sickening to see a grown man cry like that, even if he felt the same way. Tifa had meant so much to that man, for financial reasons, but Cloud knew how much Tifa mean to him.  
  
Cloud turned and walked out of the deserted building, leaving Dan alone in his misery, for he truly did deserve it. Cloud closed his eyes for a moment. He could go to her apartment, but he doubted that she would be there, but maybe her landlord knew where she was going. He quickly retraced his steps the night that he had met her and knocked on her front door. Nothing. He ran into the apartment complex to find the landlord. She was a little old woman, sitting in her rocking chair, who had left the door unlocked. Cloud walked in and looked down at her.  
  
"I'm sorry to bother you but Tifa, she used to live here...and I was wondering if you knew where she was." Cloud could only hope that she did. The old woman looked up at him, her skin stretching to stay against her bony frame.  
  
"No I don't know where she went, left in an awful hurry though." Cloud stepped back and rolled his head back. She was gone, and there was no way to find her. She could have gone anywhere, and he didn't know where she was from or where she had family. Come to think of it...he really didn't know that much about her. So why was she so important to him?  
  
"Do you know where she moved from?" Cloud asked. Tifa had only lived there for a little over a year, so maybe, the woman knew where she was from.  
  
"Nibelheim." The woman said, then looked down at her lap, to the knitting on her legs. She picked up her thread and began to knit again.  
  
It was strange, Cloud thought, that such an old woman would be awake at such an hour. Maybe she too, was suffering. Maybe she had lost someone near to her, and she could no longer sleep because of it. Knitting was her way out, but what was Cloud's? Nibelheim, Tifa must have gone to Nibelheim. She had to have, it was her home, it was probably the only other place she knew.  
  
Cloud rushed out of Midgar, back to the train station, but this time...he would not go home. He would go to Nibelheim. He would find Tifa, and apologize. He had never been to Nibelheim, but from what he heard it sounded like a quaint little village, a nice little family town. Maybe he would remain there, take his inheritance and build a house out there, away from his old life. And maybe...Tifa would join him. 


	6. Death of an Angel

Author's Note: Still going strong, figured I'd try and get another chapter up before I worked tomorrow. Tomorrow's show is Eric Clapton. Oh goody, but whatever, work is work and anything for a free concert right? I've been in a dancing mood lately, I want to sing and dance, and I'm thinking about creating a new page on AOL to link to for like...fan art I guess. It would probably be my own drawings...which will probably renditions since I can't draw, but enough to try and give examples of what I'm talking about. I don't know if it's a good idea, but I'll see how it goes. I'll probably post a picture of myself at the top, just so you know who's writing. I bet you all would NEVER guess what I looked like. Teehee, I don't look like the type of person who would write fan fiction, or play video games for that matter. Oh well, here's another fixing of Barfly! P.S. Please note, any songs that Tifa sings are NOT my original work unless otherwise noted.  
  
  
  
Junon was so big compared to Nibelheim. Tifa had never been there before, but she had found an ad in a newspaper for a business property for sale. She held the advertisement tightly in her hand as she stepped off the train, looking up at the large cannon positioned on the side of the cliff that the city was built into.  
  
She was dressed in her most professional looking outfit. To say the least, it did not make her appear very reputable, but after being a stripper for so long, she was accustomed to wearing clothes that accented her body, rather than trying to look decent. She wore a yellow halter-top that showed off her midriff in the front but was long in the back and reached down to her knees. It had white frill along the edges and a short purple tie around her neck. She had on a thick purple head band with long pieces of her hair braided and looped into it, with the majority of her thick locks hanging behind her in a ponytail, caressing her back. She had yellow gloves that stretched over her elbows with purple feathers at the hem and matching yellow leather knee-high boots. Her miniskirt was short and pleaded, with a white three-ring belt hanging loosely about her hips. (A/N: Rikku's songstress dress sphere).  
  
She looked around at all the people on the streets. They were looking at her funny, and she hoped it was because of her outfit and not because of her story in the newspaper. She wanted to open up her own bar now, but she didn't want to get business from people who knew her for her 'tryst' with the world's most eligible bachelor. She wanted to be known for her talent, not her past. She knew her talents as a stripper would be apparent, but she hoped that people would not expect her to strip for them when she performed.  
  
She walked down the street, looking for the address she had been given. She had spoken to the seller on the phone, and he seemed eager to meet her. She knew that it was because of her newfound celebrity status and she knew that would help her get the building, but after that she would want to get things her own way, all by herself. She was bitter at the reputation she had gotten and how she wouldn't have to work to get anything anymore, so long as she was willing to be a whore.  
  
But she wasn't like that. She wouldn't allow herself to benefit in any way from the heartbreak she felt, she just couldn't. It hurt her too much to think about it. She still secretly wished that Cloud had not been serious with what he had said to the press, but deep down inside she knew that he was. He was too good for her; a rich attractive heir and a lowly stripper just don't make the right couple. No, Cloud would marry some gorgeous heir whose father owned an entire company. Tifa envisioned his wedding, how extravagant it would be, and it brought a tear to her eye.  
  
She couldn't let him go. He had offered to walk her home, and he had not taken advantage of her. He had given her a large tip; just for talking to him...he was so different than she had imagined him to be. He definitely looked the part of the world's sexiest man, but she had expected him to be arrogant and conceited. She had never seen his face before, she had always turned the T.V. off whenever he was about to be interviewed or anything, she just never felt the need to know who he was. She supposed that it would have done her good to know his face, then she could have stayed away from him the night he had come to the club.  
  
She thought he was so different but...she was wrong. He was just like any other rich attractive man, they would look for a one-night stand and pretend to be some wonderfully generous and caring person, but after their desire was fulfilled, they would show their true colors. But what was Cloud's desire? He hadn't done anything with her, so why did he put on an act?  
  
She stopped in front of an abandoned building to check the address. It matched the one she held in her hand, and she entered the dilapidated corner store. The sun was out in Junon and she felt a little safer living in a place like that, instead of the dark and dismal Midgar. There was an older gentleman sitting at a table in the middle of the room with a manila folder lying on the table in front of him. Tifa smiled and cautiously approached the man. He stood up and shook her hand, smiling in return.  
  
"You must be Tifa, am I right?" He asked, the sun hitting his thick glasses and casting a glare in Tifa's eyes. She nodded her head.  
  
"Yes. Mr. Bettancourt?" She asked, as he motioned for her to take a seat across from him at the table.  
  
"Correct you are." He said, then placed his hands on the table and sighed heavily, with a smile. "So, you want to start your own business, right?" Tifa nodded. "What kind of business is it, if you don't mind me asking." He asked coyly, eyeing her breasts.  
  
Tifa was a little put off by the man. He seemed very sweet, but his inability to keep his eyes focused worried her. She shifted uneasily in her chair and looked him in the eyes, clearing her voice to draw attention back up to her face.  
  
"I want to open up my own bar." She said, not wanting to give him any ideas by mentioning her entertainment idea.  
  
"I see, I see. So you would need help?" He asked, taking out the paperwork that was inside his folder.  
  
"Yes, I would probably need to hire one or two more people." She added, and then noticed the staircase in the back of the room. "Is there...a house above this?" She asked. The man nodded.  
  
"Yes, it is included in the price. Think about it, you could walk downstairs and be at work!" He said, leaning back in his chair and grinning.  
  
Tifa looked at the contract sitting before her. It would take almost all of her savings to buy this place. She closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, hoping for an answer, some sort of sign to tell her what to do. Having her home right above the bar would be convenient, but then also everyone would know where she lived. She bit her lower lip and looked down at her lap. It was...perfect, she just needed to fix up the downstairs and she would be all set to go.  
  
"May I see the upstairs rooms?" She asked. He agreed and led her upstairs.  
  
Tifa could not believe her eyes when she saw the upstairs suite. It was lavishly decorated and already had all the needed furniture and appliances. She had never seen a bedroom so huge in her life, and she threw herself down on the bed, gripping the sheets between her fingers and sniffing the lavender scented pillow. The place had been cleaned up before she had arrived, she could tell. The thick scent of aerosol spray still hung in the air as she wandered through the rooms.  
  
There was a living room, with a white leather sofa and a glass coffee table. There was also a matching overstuffed chair adjacent to the sofa. She entered the kitchen and gasped. The cabinets were a light maple color and there were several windows, giving the place an airy atmosphere. There was a small round kitchen table with matching chairs and all her appliances were silver. She held her hand to her heart as she walked into the bathroom. There was rose-colored wallpaper and deep burgundy colored tiles. There was a separate roman bathtub from the shower, and a pillar sink.  
  
She closed her eyes and imagined herself living there. She imagined lying in the bathtub with candles all around her, and soft romantic music playing as she soaked. She could feel the warm water rest against her skin and she sighed heavily. Never in her life had she seen such a beautiful apartment, and she instantly knew that she wanted it.  
  
"Alright, let's sign those papers." She said, smiling.  
  
  
  
Nibelheim was quainter than Cloud had ever imagined. It was a small city, but nonetheless beautiful. It seemed like it would be a quiet town, judging from the way people seemed to ignore him, just as he had always wanted. Of course, there were a few women that did recognize him, and rushed up to him, groping him, begging to be his tryst for the night. He frowned at them, and continued walking. He was not like that...at least, not anymore, not since he had met Tifa.  
  
He knew that the girls were following him, but he didn't care. He could ignore them easily, he was used to that sort of thing. He entered the local bar and sat down at the counter, looking through the window as the underage teens peered in at him. He shook his head and looked at the bartender.  
  
"What'll it be?" The gruff old man asked. Cloud shrugged and looked back out the window, then back at the man behind the bar.  
  
"Nothing to drink but, could you tell me where I might find a Miss Tifa Lockheart, would you?" Cloud asked. The bartender laughed under his breath and smirked. Cloud was filled with a little hope, but something in the way the bartender had reacted to her name made him think that he was not too fond of Tifa.  
  
"That little tramp? What on earth would a respectable man like yourself want with that little disgrace?" He asked, anger in his tone.  
  
Cloud was puzzled. He couldn't imagine anyone not liking Tifa; she was so sweet to him. But maybe that was just an act, like his father had said. Maybe she was cruel and heartless, just like all the other girls he knew. But what had Tifa done to this man?  
  
"Never mind that, do you know where I can find her?" Cloud asked, looking at the small crowd of girls that had gathered outside the bar. The bartender noticed as well.  
  
"You seem to be pretty popular with the young ladies in this town, what's your name?" He asked. Cloud didn't know what to say. Should he reveal his true identity? He didn't think it really mattered, since the girls outside obviously knew who he was.  
  
"Cloud Strife." He said, noticing the bartender's quick reaction. The man sneered and took a step back.  
  
"Oh, you're that little pecker who owns the college. You here to buy off this town too?" The man was clearly peeved. Cloud wasn't sure how to respond.  
  
"Uh...yeah...I guess that's me. Tell me, why don't you like Tifa?" He asked. The man tilted his head back and sighed heavily.  
  
"She was a great kid when she left us. She had so much promise and hope..." His eyes looked solemn and Cloud could see the faint shimmer of a tear in his eye. "Then we found out she was a stripper, she had disgraced the town, she had betrayed us." He said, his eyes turning cold and menacing.  
  
"But she didn't want to be a stripper." Cloud said defensively, as if it had been him who had just been attacked. The bartender threw his head back and laughed.  
  
"Kid, if she didn't want to be a stripper she wouldn't have stayed there for over a year. You're just as air headed as I thought you'd be." Cloud growled to himself. What was this guy's problem?  
  
"Look, can you just tell me where she is." He snarled, glaring at the window. The girls outside sighed longingly and he could hear them yelling his name.  
  
"She left a couple days ago, right after the funeral." The bartender said, picking up a glass and wiping out the inside.  
  
"Funeral?" Cloud asked, surprised.  
  
"She came back and her father died, she left after his funeral with her inheritance. What a little wench." He sneered. Cloud held his lips together tightly so as not to get angry. He wanted to strike the man for what he was saying, but he knew that he shouldn't. He lifted his eyebrows and slowly got up to leave.  
  
"Thanks anyway." He said, walking out the door and being paraded by the lust driven girls.  
  
He forced his way through them and headed back for the train station. He would have to return home, he had no other choice. He couldn't keep looking for her if he didn't have a clue where she would be. He lowered his head and watched the ground beneath his feet move as he walked to the station. Where could she have gone? He ran his hand down his face and sighed, not knowing what to do. If he went home he was sure to get a swift kick in the ass by his father, but he had nowhere else to go. He was stuck.  
  
  
  
Tifa was flat broke, for the first time in her life; she hadn't a dollar to her name. She had never felt more vulnerable in all her life. She had used the money left over in her saving account to restore the bar and build a stage for her. She had named it Tifa's Seventh Heaven, once again retreating to using her name to try and draw business.  
  
Tonight was her opening night, and she waited patiently for customers. She had trained a young girl from Wutai, Yuffie, who was going to college in Junon, to bartend so that she could entertain. Yuffie was too young to work behind a bar, but Tifa felt that she would do a good job, since she was so desperate for money, the young girl would take anything.  
  
Tifa stood backstage, in her own private dressing room. She was nervous about her first performance not stripping and she hoped that people would enjoy her. She wore a black halter top with a neckline that reached below her belly button. There were no sides to it, except for one thick strap to hold it on her. She had on long purple gloves that reached up to her upper arm. She had a blue scarf around her neck and a green feather in her hair. She wore a long purple skirt that covered just her front and back with no sides, until her knees, where it became a normal skirt. She had on black boots that reached to her upper thighs. (A/N: Paine's 'Lady Luck' dress sphere)  
  
She walked out into the main room and noticed a few patrons. They immediately saw her and their eyes widened. She knew that she had been recognized, but at least it would bring in more money. This wasn't how things were supposed to go...this wasn't how she was supposed to make her living but...she had no choice. Again, she felt trapped in her own world.  
  
The patrons grabbed their cell phones and made a few phone calls. Within a half an hour the entire bar was filled with people eager to see the girl they had read about in the papers. Tifa knew her profits for the night would be enormous but...the money was tainted. She sighed as she stepped on stage, listening to the catcalls and cheers from the audience.  
  
She walked up to the microphone and took it from its stand. She didn't know what to say to these people, other than she was grateful for their support. She thought about closing down the stage, and just tending bar, now that people knew she existed, maybe she wouldn't perform. She feared that the obviously horny crowd would begin to hound her to strip and she was afraid that she wouldn't resist...just for the money.  
  
She couldn't believe her own thoughts. Was she actually thinking about going back to stripping? Had everything she ever believed in, all her morals and values, just been lost in Midgar? She had always wanted to leave stripping, but now...she was about to do it again. She closed her eyes and silently cursed herself for ever bringing the matter to her own attention. She stepped up to the edge of the stage and began to speak, not knowing what to say.  
  
"Welcome everyone and I thank you for attending my opening night." The words seemed to drip off her tongue as if she had rehearsed them. "My name's Tifa Lockheart and I will be performing a song for you tonight. I hope you enjoy it." She looked out across the crowd, at the eager faces, waiting for her to do something, anything. She closed her eyes and thought about what to sing. There was a song she had written on the train from Nibelheim. It was kind of about her night with Cloud, how she had been on stage and he was in the audience, and how she missed him.  
  
_Whenever sang my songs  
On the stage, on my own   
Whenever said my words   
Wishing they would be heard  
  
I saw you smiling at me   
Was it real? Or just my fantasy?   
You'd always be there in the corner   
Of this tiny little bar  
  
My last night here for you   
Same old songs, just once more   
My last night here with you   
Maybe yes, maybe no  
  
I kind of liked it your way   
How you shyly placed your eyes on me   
Oh did you ever know   
That I had mine on you?  
  
Darling so there you are   
With that look on your face   
As if you're never hurt   
As if you're never down  
  
Shall I be the one for you?   
Who pinches you softly, but sure?   
If frown is shown then, I will know   
That you are no dreamer  
  
So let me come to you   
Close as I want to be   
Close enough for me   
To feel your heart, beating fast  
  
And stay there as I whisper   
How I loved your peaceful eyes on me   
Oh did you ever know   
That I had mine on you?  
  
Darling so share with me   
Your love if you have enough   
Your tears if you're holding back   
Or pain if that's what it is  
  
How can I let you know?   
I'm more than the dress and the voice?   
If frown is shown then, I will know   
That you are not dreaming  
  
Darling so there you are   
With that look on your face   
As if you're never hurt   
As if you're never down  
  
Shall I be the one for you?   
Who pinches you softly, but sure?   
If frown is shown then, I will know   
That you are no dreamer_  
  
A tear slid down her cheek as she finished, hanging the microphone back up on its stand. The audience clapped nervously, unsure that she was finished. She bowed and they all looked at each other, waiting for more. She looked into their faces and saw the longing in their eyes. She knew what they wanted before they even started speaking.  
  
"Strip!" Some started chanting.  
  
"Take it off!" A few others were calling.  
  
Tifa looked out at them, a horrified expression on her face. Her mouth was agape and she could feel tears in her eyes. Was this what she had become? Was this all she could ever hope to be in life? She looked around at the individual faces, seeing the want and lust in their eyes. She couldn't stand it anymore. She didn't want to be treated this way anymore. She brought a hand up to cover her face and she turned and ran up the stairs.  
  
She was sobbing openly, leaving a trail of tears behind her as she ran up to her bedroom and slammed the door. She threw herself down on her bed and grasped the pillow, wailing into it all of her anger and resentment. She had done this to herself, there was no one else to blame but herself but god, it hurt so much. To think that she could never be anything more than...a stripper.  
  
"Teefy?" She could hear Yuffie's childish voice outside her bedroom door hours later. "Teefy, are you alright?" She asked, knocking softly on the door.  
  
Tifa stirred, but did not respond. She had nearly cried herself to sleep and was stretched out on the bed. She rolled her head to look up at the ceiling, her tears dried along her cheeks. She moaned softly, just to reassure herself that she was, unfortunately, still alive. She could hear the creek of her door open as Yuffie cautiously entered and walked over to the bed.  
  
"Everyone's gone, Tifa. They were wondering about you." Yuffie whispered.  
  
Tifa opened her eyes wearily, trying to focus on Yuffie's face. She moaned again and shifter her body lazily, as if she were passed out drunk. Yuffie brushed the few strands of hair that had fallen in front of Tifa's face back behind her ear. She kneeled down at the edge of the bed and looked at Tifa, an apologetic look on her face.  
  
"I'm sorry." She said. "For what happened tonight...I know that's not what you wanted."  
  
How could she understand? She was going to school and living on her own, but did she know what it felt like to have dreams that could never be obtained? She had a future for herself, but Tifa didn't. She was, and always would be, a stripper, no matter how hard she tried to dismiss the reputation; she was doomed by her fate.  
  
"But you know what? Tomorrow's a new day, and now that they know what to expect, maybe they'll calm down, ya know?" Yuffie said cheerfully. Tifa moaned in response. Yuffie nodded her head a few times, then stood up to leave.  
  
"Thank you." Tifa said quietly as the young girl walked out the door.  
  
  
  
Returning home was the hardest thing he had ever had to do in his life. Facing his father after running away, it frightened him so much. He had expected a fight, but instead his father completely ignored him, turning his back on his own son coldly. Cloud had understood the source of his anger. Cloud had screwed up, and he knew that, both his life and almost the life of the college, if inanimate buildings could have lives.  
  
He realized that this was it, this was the end. He couldn't find Tifa and he couldn't apologize, that there was no hope for them to ever be together. She had...disappeared, walked into the oblivion of people that inhabited the Earth, never to be seen or heard from again.  
  
He lay back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He ran his fingers through his hair and thought of what to do with his life. He would have to go on living without her, never seeing her again or ever speaking to her. Maybe it was for the best, she didn't know what it was like to always be in the newspapers or on T.V. Maybe it was best that she didn't get involved with the Strife family.  
  
He would never forget her, not ever. He couldn't, she was too much a part of him and he realized the error of his guilty ways. He would never take advantage of a single woman ever again; he would never again have a one-night stand. He knew he would never find another girl as interesting as Tifa so long as he lived, but at least he would have a standard to go by.  
  
He felt himself drift off to sleep. She had been in his dreams every night since he had met her, even before he had met her since she was, he recalled, the 'girl of his dreams'. He always had wonderful dreams with her, which he knew from experience that that was a beacon of doom. Every time he had a good dream about someone, something bad happened between them. He woke up every morning with a sense of happiness, the kind a person gets after a good dream, but he knew that things would go horribly.  
  
Tonight was different, however. Tonight his dream started out perfectly, he and Tifa were at the beach, watching the sunset together. Her hair was blowing fiercely in the wind and he laughed as she tried to keep it out of her face. He kissed her forehead and wrapped his arm around her, holding her close, never wanting to let her go. He looked out across the ocean at Costa Del Sol and smiled, watching as the waves lapped against their feet. He turned to look at Tifa, but was horrified to find her limp in his arms. He tried to shake her to get her to regain consciousness but it wouldn't work. He could feel the tears in his eyes as he clutched her lifeless body to his chest, begging for it not to be true.  
  
He woke up in a sweat, his heart racing from his nightmare. He clutched his chest to try and steady his breathing. He looked around his room, she was not there. She was not dead, as far as he knew. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, knowing that she had not been with him. He had never gotten to show her Costa Del Sol, or watch the sunset with her, or do any of the things he had ever wanted to do with her. He had screwed up, and she would be there no more. 


	7. Thinking Of Each Other

Author's Note: I always write these notes first, so often what I talk about in them doesn't even happen in the chapter. That being said, I think that this may be the final chapter of Barfly, I'm not sure, it depends on how it goes or what happens. Anyway, enjoy! P.S. remember, songs that Tifa sings are NOT written by me unless otherwise noted and YES I am aware that I already used Real Emotion, but whatever, I can use it again! Also, as you all know I work at a concert venue, so that's why I'm really into performances and concerts in my stories right now. And also, a question to you all that may never be answered, is this first scene a dream...or is it real?  
  
  
  
"1, 2, 3...hit it."  
  
The entire stage was black except for two bright spotlights directed towards the center, on a lone figure that stood with her head bowed and holding a microphone at her side. She was wearing dark blue halter-top that showed off her midriff and had white frill running up the front and around her neckline. She wore a black pleated miniskirt that was see- through to her black panties beneath and a layered light blue half skirt that reached down to her left knee. She had violet sleeves with strings to hold them onto her arms that criss-crossed up her arm and brown leather knee-high boots. (A/N: Yuna's songstress dress sphere).  
  
_What can I do for you?_  
  
She looked up as she sang the first words, and the music began to build. She strutted to the end of the stage like a runway model, with all the grace and ease of a veteran. She was nervous though; as she was each time she performed. She stopped at the edge of the stage and looked over the enormous audience in front of her. It seemed like the entire world had gathered to hear her sing and she couldn't believe it. She quickly looked down to the side and began tapping her foot.  
  
_What can I do for you?   
What can I do for you?   
What can I do for you?   
I can't hear you_  
  
She began to move her feet to the music as she continued to sing. She ran around the stage and stopped in front of different sections of the audience and began to jump up and down, lifting her hands in the air to get them to join in and cheer for her. She loved the applause and she loved the attention. This was what she wanted her whole life, and she had finally obtained it, on her own.  
  
_What can I do for you?   
What can I do for you?   
What can I do for you?  
_  
With each line she leaned over to shift her weight onto one leg at a time, and continued back and forth. She lifted her free hand in the air and began to kick out her legs dancing 'ska' style. She found her place once again downstage of the center, where she reached out her hand for the audience to touch. No longer was there a crowd of only horny males, now there were teenagers and nearly every age group coming to watch her perform and loving every minute of it. She smiled as she sang, beaming from her success.  
  
_Falling in the hazy borders of my heart  
I can see your face  
It's something like this  
Every now and then I don't know what to do  
Still I know that I  
Can never go back_  
  
She brought her hand up to the side of her face and slid it down her cheek, to her neck and down the side of her body to her hip, and then stretched it out with raw emotion. She incorporated some of the techniques she learned as a stripper to entice her audience, but no longer did she need to remove her clothes to be adored.  
  
_All the things I've seen  
In those hazy dreams  
Can't compare to what I'm seein' now  
Everything's so different  
That it brings me to my knees_  
  
She fell to her knees and straddled the stage, the pushed her bottom up into the air and slowly raised the rest of her body. She shifted her shoulders from side to side and closed her eyes, grinning widely. She grabbed the back of her head from over her face and looked to each side with lightning quick speed. Had she not controlled herself the audience thought she could have gotten whiplash.  
  
_And oh, I know, the world of real emotion  
Has surrounded me  
I won't give in to it  
Now, I know, that forward  
Is the only way my heart can go  
I hear your voice calling out to me  
'You'll never be alone.'_  
  
She clutched her arm to her chest and pivoted on her heel. She then stretched out her arm, gripping for the audience as if they could come to her. She ran up to the edge of the stage and stopped, and shook her head to look behind her and then back towards the front. She placed her hand behind her back and began to shimmy.  
  
_What can I do for you?   
What can I do for you?   
What can I do for you?   
What can I do for you?_  
  
She again bounced around the stage, raising up her arm to get the audience to join her as she repeated the lines again and again. She was having so much fun and she didn't even care if the audience participated. She was singing to herself, as if looking into a mirror, and in her mind there was no one else around. She skipped to each side of the stage and shook her hips, bending at the knees to slowly near herself to the floor.  
  
_I can't hear you_  
  
On each word of her last line she stuck out her hips to the side, then back and forth. She took a different pose with each word and then started to shake her hips and rotate her shoulders during her short interlude.  
  
_And if I find the real without emotion  
Has surrounded me   
And I can't go on   
And you are there   
The moment that I close my eyes   
You comfort me   
"We are connected   
Go on. You'll see   
I'll never be—"_  
  
She began to rotate her hips and belly dance. She let her soul become intertwined within the music and she felt her body escape her, taking on a new role with the sounds that were pouring out of her mouth. She could feel the sweat drip from her forehead as she concentrated, afraid to lose her balance, afraid to fall and ruin her success.  
  
_And oh, I know, the world of real emotion  
Has surrounded me   
I won't give into it   
Now, I know, that forward   
Is the only way my heart can go   
I hear your voice calling out to me   
"You'll never be alone"_  
  
She repeated her dance steps for the chorus, clutching her arm to her chest, then reaching for the audience and running up to them, looking back and forth. She still couldn't believe that she had gotten to this point in her career, still couldn't believe that she was national sensation. And, though she hated to admit it, she owed it all to Cloud.  
  
_What can I do for you?  
What can I do for you?  
What can I do for you?_  
  
She bent over the stage and stretched out her hand again for the audience to touch. She loved the fact that she was so important to them, that they would die just to touch her fingers. She reached out to touch as many hands as she could, while the screams from below her grew louder and louder.  
  
_I can't hear you  
_  
The audience had completely chimed in with that last line and her voice could barely be heard over them, even with the microphone. She danced around the stage, shaking her hips wildly as her song was about to end. She could feel all the emotions flood over her body, and intense ecstasy that she could only obtain by performing, something she had never felt while stripping.  
  
_I can't hear you  
_  
With each of her last words she struck a new pose harshly. Each word she stuck her hip out to one side or the other, turning her face a different direction. She ended with her arm raised in the air with a fist, and her hand that held the microphone hanging to her side, her face bowed and the lights shut off.  
  
  
  
Cloud sat back in his desk chair, flipping a pen between his fingers. He swiveled around to look outside, across his backyard with the Olympic sized swimming pool and out across the wall, out to the mountains that had always brought him so much inspiration, so much company. It had been six months since he had returned home and he was now the president of Midgar University.  
  
He had been so busy lately that he hadn't the time to watch the news or even read the papers. He had been working on a sky-high pile of paperwork for months, and now that he was finally finished with it he hoped to be getting back into the swing of life. He wanted to have fun, maybe even take a trip over to Costa Del Sol and see his father at their summer villa.  
  
Of course, it shouldn't have taken him so long to finish the paperwork, but whenever he got tired of all the writing, his mind drifted. His thoughts wandered off into the distance numerous times a day. And most of them seemed to revolve around one person.  
  
He wondered how she was and what she was doing with her life. He just couldn't get her off of his mind. She was so beautiful and he still felt a horrible sting of guilt in his side. He still couldn't believe what he had done to her, what he had said about her. He hadn't been able to search for her for the past few months, but he had thought about her constantly.  
  
He was hoping that she was well; that her life was getting back on track and that she was doing all right on her own. He wanted to there with her, wherever she was, he wanted to be a part of her life, but he knew that he couldn't be. He had wronged her, and he could never ask for her forgiveness.  
  
He wanted to know where she was and to see for himself that she was doing fine. But work was tough and he knew that he wouldn't be able to go on a blind search any time soon. He took a deep breath and turned back to his desk, tapping his pencil lightly on the letterhead in front of him.  
  
His mind was gone; he knew he would not be able to do any more work for the day. He was like a writer with writer's block and he couldn't refocus. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the last dream he had with her in it, six months ago. He could still picture it vividly as if he had just dreamt it. He hadn't heard or seen of her since, she had just blended into the rest of society, another lost soul that he could buy out if he so wanted.  
  
He stood up and decided to take a much-needed break. He walked into his bedroom and changed into a pair of swim trunks. With his sandals and sunglasses, he strolled out to his pool and straddled a lounge chair, cupping his face in his hands and running his fingers through his hair.  
  
He had been so lonely since he lost her. He knew that at any moment he could walk out his front door and find a girl that would give her left arm to be with him for a night but he didn't want them. He didn't need a spineless, brainless whore to make him feel whole. He needed...her.  
  
She was the desire that eluded him. She was the thought that crossed his mind every few seconds. She was an anchor to reality that he could not obtain. She meant so much to him, even though they had only spoken once. Is this, he thought to himself, what it feels like?  
  
He had never believed in love. He had always thought that it was just an illusion, that you could not love someone forever. He had spent his time jumping from girl to girl to satisfy his needs for the moment but...what if he could find a woman that would satisfy him for the rest of his life? Could such a woman exist for him? Could that be Tifa?  
  
He looked up into the azure water before him, concentrating on its tranquil movements in the soft breeze. He stood up and sighed, then dove into the icy water, not bothering to come up for air. He curled into a fetal position and remained under water, knowing that all his thoughts could be much clearer.  
  
He knew that he needed to find her, that if he didn't he would slowly drive himself insane. He couldn't give up on her, couldn't believe that she would never forgive him, even though he deserved it. He had looked for her, mildly, whenever he went for a walk. He knew that she could never get to the upper plate but still, it was wishful thinking. He would search through the crowds of people that he walked by; he would scan their faces, wondering if it could be her.  
  
He swam to the surface of the water and gasped for breath, swimming to the edge of the pool and gripping the deck for support. He deserved to die for what he did to her, but he knew that he couldn't. He still had this hope in his mind that she was thinking about him, that maybe even she missed him.  
  
  
  
"This...is a song I wrote...about someone who hurt me in the past..." Tifa trailed off as she stood at the microphone in her bar.  
  
Business was doing extremely well; the bar was almost a national institution. People from all over the world were coming to see her perform, as long as they were old enough to drink. She was overwhelmed by her recent success and was afraid to lose her sense of self. She still was who she was six months ago, or at least she thought she was, and hoped that she would never change.  
  
She gripped the microphone and stood in one place. She never danced to her sad songs, instead she stood there, letting the emotions encompass the audience and bring them to tears. This one too, would be no different. Her thoughts still constantly drifted back to Cloud and what he had done to her, she couldn't deny her feelings for him, even now, after all this time. She watched the news and read the papers, just to see if he would be a topic.  
  
She wore a pink and purple dress with holes cut down the side and a neckline that stretched below her waist. She had on a purple scarf with short purple gloves and boots. Around her neck and waist were large gold coins and she had a fan in her hair. (A/N: Yuna's 'Lady Luck' dress sphere). She sighed and lowered her head, concentrating on her next song.  
  
_All your words  
Seem gentle in my dreams.  
But they're lies  
And I turn away.  
You cheater.  
  
You began a journey  
Sensing roughness ahead.  
It's strange.  
Why do you fight alone?  
You cheater.  
  
"I'll come back."  
Your voice passes me.  
Memories grow.  
But I'm tough.  
Time that's returned  
That got away.  
I should have yelled don't go, with tears in my eyes  
And now  
I can't do a thing.  
  
I cannot say  
The 1000 words.  
Faraway  
To your back.  
My words can't fly to you.  
  
I cannot say  
The 1000 words.  
You're wounded  
And I can't reach you.  
I want to hold you.  
  
The dream goes on  
My feelings are for you.  
That faraway day  
That I want to forget.  
You cheater.  
  
"I'll write to you."  
Your voice goes away.  
Memories grow.  
But I'm tough.  
Time that's returned  
That once left.  
Was I to say I couldn't wait that long?  
And now  
I can't do a thing.  
  
Can you hear it?  
My 1000 words.  
Reaching to  
Your faded away back  
On wings.  
  
Can you hear it?  
My 1000 words  
Your tired back  
They reach towards.  
I want to hold you.  
  
I could say  
The 1000 words.  
Lalalala...  
They can't seem  
To reach you.  
  
Can you hear it?  
My 1000 words.  
Lalalala...  
I want to cuddle up to you.  
Lalalalala...  
_  
She bowed her head as a tear slipped to the floor beneath her. She still didn't realize just how much she missed him. Even after what he had done to her she still couldn't believe that he had done it on his own accord, it seemed like...he was forced, but maybe she was just hoping.  
  
The audience gave her yet another standing ovation as she bowed. She walked backstage with a fake smile on her face. Performing at her bar always made her happy but tonight...she figured it was the song. Maybe she shouldn't sing it anymore. But it was already out on a CD so she couldn't deny that it existed.  
  
Yes, she had gotten a record deal. An agent who had heard about her and Cloud Strife had come to her bar hoping, like most other people, to get a glimpse of such a beautiful stripper. When he heard her sing he realized that she had so much more potential and signed her up.  
  
She sat down at her lighted mirror and rested her chin on her fist. She stared at herself in the mirror, trying to decide if she was good enough for Cloud, if she was pretty enough to be someone he could like...maybe even love. She sighed longingly and thought to herself, 'I hope he's thinking about me too.'  
  
She brought her water bottle to her lips and took a sip, crossing her legs and closing her eyes. She set it back down on the counter and smiled. What if he was thinking about her? She could only imagine but still...dreams are what make people happy.  
  
  
  
Cloud sat down on his couch and leaned back, still unable to concentrate on his work. He had taken a break several hours ago and spent the time pacing around his deserted mansion. Mia had left to take care of his father, who had aged considerably since he handed over the college to Cloud. He was not well and Cloud knew that he would die soon.  
  
He had mixed emotions about losing his father. He was the man who had raised him and taken care of him, but he had also forced him to hurt Tifa. He knew he would miss the man but he still hold a bitter grudge for what he had made him do.  
  
Cloud needed someone to clean the house. He had hired a maid, but she had tried to get into his pants and he had let her go. She had clung to him and tried to seduce him, but to no avail. Cloud's heart still belonged with Tifa. He wanted someone to live with him that he could talk to and share things with, someone who could cook since he had not had a home cooked meal in months.  
  
He sighed and picked up the remote for the T.V. He turned it on to a random channel, the music channel and watched. It was summer time so all the rich kids were flocking to Costa Del Sol to the large dance party that the channel hosted each year. The host of the event was sitting on a stage with two armchairs and a small end table between them.  
  
"What's up people, this is Rod Beckon here for MC. Welcome back to summer dance fest! Now I'm about to introduce one hot young lady, a newcomer to the music world but she's rapidly becoming a national sensation. Here she is for her first interview ever, Tifa Lockheart!" 


	8. Dying Spirits

Author's Note: Well this might be it, the conclusion of Barfly, I'm not sure. If it is it will be the first multi-chapter story I have ever completed. I got a new idea for a story last night that will be like Barfly only the other way around where Tifa is rich and Cloud is poor. I was beginning to get pretty lax about Victim so maybe I should take a little break from it. It's been about 12 chapters since something substantial has happened so I think that the story will get back on track soon. I'm sorry that nothing major was happening but I needed a lot of time to go by between chapters so that the rest of the story will fall into place, if that makes any sense. Trust me, it will eventually. Anyway onto my life. Bryan and I spoke on Saturday when I worked, and he called me later that night and left a message of my phone just to say that he enjoyed talking to me. Isn't that sweet? Funny though, I never thought in my wildest dreams he would ever like me the way I wanted him too, and I never thought that he would be so sweet or care about me so much. Also, mission golf kart boy is making slow but steady progress . Now on with Barfly! P.S. again, please note that songs sung by Tifa are NOT written by me.  
  
  
  
The crowd went wild as the beautiful young woman walked up to the stage nervously. Cloud leaned forward on his knees as his jaw dropped to the floor. He couldn't believe his eyes. Tifa...was famous? When did that happen? He grinned widely, finally knowing where she was. He was so happy for her, that she finally got her life to go the way she wanted, but a prick of jealousy snapped in his mind. What if she had moved on and forgotten about him?  
  
He watched the screen in front of him intensely, hanging on her every word, hoping that she would mention him in some way. He turned up the volume and reached for his cell phone, nearly yelling into it. He ordered his private helicopter to come and pick him up, he was going to Costa Del Sol to find her and apologize.  
  
"Now Miss Lockheart," Rod said, grinning as he looked her up and down, "how does it feel to be one of the world's leading singers?"  
  
Tifa was wearing an incredibly short dark green miniskirt with her yellow thong sides stretched up over her hips. She had on a yellow belt with two small pouches on it and very loose boots. She wore the top of a yellow string bikini and a red scarf that faded to yellow at the ends. She wore no gloves so that she could work on her already perfect tan and her hair was up in a thick ponytail with braids looped up into just as when she had first arrived in Junon. (A/N: Rikku's 'Thief' dress sphere)  
  
"It feels pretty good and I never thought it would ever happen." Tifa answered nervously, glancing over at the camera as her feather earrings blew softly in a quick breeze.  
  
Cloud couldn't get over how gorgeous she was. He checked his watch; it had only been five minutes since he had called his pilot, but still he wondered where the man was. He wanted to tell her how much he missed her and how sorry he was, in front of the whole world. He wanted to tell her that he would give up his entire fortune to spend the rest of his life with her.  
  
"And, I know it says in your contract that I am forbidden to speak about this but," Rod prodded as Tifa began to turn red in the face, "I, and I'm sure our viewer's at home would like to know once and for all, what really happened between you and millionaire Cloud Strife?"  
  
Tifa looked down at her lap and uncrossed her legs, allowing the audience to see a glimpse of her yellow panties. She closed her knees together tightly and rested her hands on them, rocking forward in her chair. She was in a bind, she needed to answer, she could hear the audience chanting for her to tell them what had happened on that night. But she was also angry that Rod had the gall to break her contract.  
  
She had specifically asked in her contract that it be stated that no interviewer may talk about her stint with the president of Midgar U or anything about her life as a stripper. The world knew about it, but she didn't want to talk about it. She was still afraid that her popularity had stemmed from such a background and he wanted that as far in her past as possible. She wanted to forget, to move on. Whenever she thought back to Cloud...she choked up and would nearly cry but she couldn't on national television.  
  
"Well...umm..." She trailed off, looking out at the audience and the cameras. "Nothing happened between us, we talked and he walked me home, then he left and I haven't seen or talked to him since..." She looked down at her lap briefly, trying to hide her obvious pain. But Rod couldn't let her be, he wouldn't stop there, he had to probe further into her psyche.  
  
"So you're saying that the most eligible bachelor in the world walked you home, and NOTHING happened?"  
  
"Yes, that's what I'm saying." Tifa said coldly. Her cheerful smile had faded into a hint of a glare.  
  
"Now what about your songs, the ones about lost loves and heartbreak? Do those have anything to do with Mr. Strife?"  
  
Tifa swallowed the lump in her throat harshly. She wanted to get up and leave the interview, she wanted to run and hide. She was not supposed to be treated this way anymore. Men were supposed to respect her now, not throw all of her wishes down the drain like they had before. People were supposed to listen to her, not force her into doing things she didn't want to any longer.  
  
Cloud sat on the edge of his seat, waiting for her to respond. How could she say that nothing had happened? In truth, nothing did happen, but still, sparks were ignited, right? At least they were to him, but maybe he had hurt her too badly or maybe his father had been right about her. Either way he needed to know.  
  
"The songs I sing are about love, any love, not specifically about one person. Why would I write a song about someone who thought nothing about me? A love song, saying that I missed such a man, that's crazy!" Tifa said.  
  
Cloud could feel his heart split. Is that what she thought? Did she really think that he thought nothing of her? He grasped at his chest to control his anguish. Maybe he shouldn't speak with her; maybe it would be best for the both of them if he just stayed away from her. But he couldn't. There were things left unsaid, emotions he had not confronted and that needed to be told. He could hear the whirling of his helicopter outside as he thought and ran to jump in. He knew that he would be seeing her in just a few minutes and he couldn't wait.  
  
"Now about your career as a stripper?" Rod asked, but he had gone too far.  
  
Tifa would not stand to be humiliated like this. She stood up and slapped Rod across the face hard. He clutched his cheek as the crowd cheered for her. She didn't care if her sales went down or if she were fired, she would not allow herself to be embarrassed anymore.  
  
"Sorry, moving right along..." Rod said as Tifa sat back down, anger in her eyes. "We know that you're a very strong-willed person, we just...witnessed that," He continued, rubbing his cheek, "but what is a major fear of yours?"  
  
"That I will have to have another interview with someone like you." Tifa responded, dryly. Rod closed his eyes tightly and sucked in his lips, hurt.  
  
"I'm sorry, Miss Lockheart, I truly am, I won't ask another stupid question." Rod said, bowing his head.  
  
"It's all right, Rod, you're just doing your job." Tifa said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Even after being so angry, she couldn't hold a grudge against anyone.  
  
She could feel a strong wind blowing from outside of town and moved to cover her face from the sand. She coughed a little bit after some flew into her mouth but she was fine. The audience had ducked for cover, being used to sudden sandstorms during the summer. After it was over, Rod returned to his questions.  
  
"Now I know that you have a brand new song for us, would you all like to hear it?" He said to the audience, who responded by roaring. Tifa blushed; she couldn't believe that she was so popular. She stood up and walked to center stage, smiling at everyone who was reaching up to try and touch her hand.  
  
_Alone for awhile I've been searching through the dark  
For traces of the love you left inside my lonely heart   
To weave, by picking up the pieces that remain   
Melodies of Life--Love's lost refrain_  
  
This song was truly for Cloud, but she wouldn't admit that. She was trying to push him out of her life, but it was just so hard. He had meant so much to her, even if she hardly knew him. It was one of her sadder songs, so she stood still at center stage and did not dance. She would choose different people in the audience to sing a line to so that she could focus. Singing her songs about him made her want to collapse and the heat was getting to her as well.  
  
_Our paths they did cross, now I can not say just why  
We met, we laughed, we held on fast, and then we said good-bye   
And who'll hear the echoes of stories never told?   
Let them ring, out loud, 'til they unfold  
_  
She could have sworn that she saw spiky blonde hair like Cloud's standing in the audience, pushing their way through, but she couldn't be sure. She couldn't see the man's face but she could feel her heart flutter. Maybe...he was here, for her. She knew that she was just dreaming and went on with her song.  
  
_In my dearest memories, I see you reaching out to me  
Then you're gone, I still believe that you can call out my name  
_  
She couldn't hide her feelings from the camera. She knew that the audience could tell that this song was about the blonde haired millionaire. The girls all stood love struck, thinking about being Tifa and what it would be like to have Cloud, even if it was ephemeral. She still wished that he were there with her, that he was the man in the audience and would call out her name.  
  
_A voice from the past, joining yours and mine  
Adding up the layers of harmony   
And so it goes on and on   
Melodies of life   
To the sky beyond the flying birds—forever and beyond_  
  
She could still hear his voice in her head, calling out her name, but she knew that she was just imagining things. She felt tears running down her cheeks, racing with the sweat that was dooming to make her pass out from heat exhaustion. How she wished that he really was calling for her, but she knew that it was just the audience cheering.  
  
_So far and away, see the bird as it flies by  
Gliding through the shadows of the clouds up in the sky   
I've laid my memories and dreams upon those wings  
Lift them high and see what tomorrow brings_  
  
She was looking at the clear blue sky above her, searching for her inspiration. She smiled at her last verse, remembering what tomorrow had been bringing her for the past six months. Tomorrow had brought her a career, a livelihood. Tomorrow had brought her the fame she had always wanted. Tomorrow had brought her...no closer to Cloud.  
  
_In your dearest memories do you remember loving me?  
Was it fate that brought us close and now leaves me behind?_  
  
She still wondered if he ever thought about her. She wanted to know if sometimes deep in the back of his mind, he missed her. While he was working if he ever doodled her name or thought back to the conversation they had at her bar. She wondered...could he ever love her? Or had he moved on and left her behind, as part of his past?  
  
_A voice from the past, joining yours and mine  
Adding up the layers of harmony   
And so it goes on and on   
Melodies of life  
To the sky beyond the flying birds—forever and beyond_  
  
The blonde man had made his way up to the front of the stage and was looking directly up at her. The stage had a runway on it that she had been singing on so the crowd surrounded her on three sides. She glanced down at the blonde man and nearly fainted. Cloud was standing below her, looking up at her. Her eyes met his and she smiled. He really was calling her name, her wish had come true. It was a voice from the past, joining hers. She couldn't believe that he was really there.  
  
_If I should leave, this lonely world behind  
Your voice will still remember our melody   
Now I know we'll carry on   
Melodies of life   
Come circle round and grow dear in our hearts   
As long as we remember_  
  
Some people in the audience had noticed Cloud looking at her and began to lift him onto the stage. He climbed up into the camera's view, and no one stopped him. He had enough money to buy them off so no one dared mess with him. He looked at Tifa with an apologetic look in his eyes.  
  
She didn't know what to do. She couldn't do anything harsh to him since she was on live T.V. but she wanted to hit him so badly for hurting her. One look into his deep crystal eyes made her forget all her anger. She tilted her head and waited for him to say something. She could not be the first one to speak, not after what he had done. She wanted to turn away from him, make him work for her respect, but she knew what the audience wanted and for now, she would forgive him.  
  
"Forgive me, please?" Cloud asked, taking her hands in his and facing towards her.  
  
Tifa looked down, then out at the audience that was cheering louder than ever before. She looked back up at Cloud, who had a solemn look on his face, pleading with her to forgive him. Her eyes searched his for truth, darting back and forth as she frowned. Finally she gave him her trademark smile and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and felt for the first time how good it was to hold her.  
  
"I already have." She whispered, the audience barely hearing.  
  
The crowd began to scream and applaud for them. Tifa pulled away from Cloud, still holding his hand, and blushed. She was so embarrassed, but she was still hurt. She waved to the cameras with Cloud, who put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. She couldn't have asked for a more magical reunion.  
  
  
  
The sun was setting on Costa Del Sol, and all the partygoers had already left for their hotels for the night. Cloud sat on the sand, looking out across the ocean at the orange sky and magenta sun. The sun cast a yellow glare onto the darkening water as the tide flowed in and out.  
  
He could see Tifa's silhouette outlined in the setting sun. He could see every perfect curve of her body as she twisted back and forth gently, her hands clasped behind her back. Her head was tilted as she looked off into the distance, one foot crossed behind the other. Cloud had never seen a more beautiful woman in all his life and he knew that this time...his dream was real, but Tifa would not die.  
  
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She asked, not turning to look at him. He kept his eyes focused on her, with a smile on his lips.  
  
"Yeah, it is." He said, referring to her. Tifa still had not looked at him, and that had been the first thing she had said to him since they were on stage together. He was worried that she would reject him, and had only pretended to forgive him for the cameras.  
  
"This isn't enough." She said with a deep sigh after a long pause. Cloud looked up at her, confused. He tilted his head and drew his eyebrows together.  
  
"What do you mean?" He asked, a fear striking his heart. She turned to look at him, her dark chocolate hair flipping behind her and making her look like a model. She had a look of deep discern on her face that he could just barely make out by the shadow covering her face.  
  
"This isn't enough, Cloud. You hurt me. I can't just let that fade away..." She was lying through her teeth. Cloud had come back to her, and he was with her now, but she knew that she needed to let him know how badly he had hurt her. She couldn't let him get away with it. Cloud bowed his head and took a deep breath.  
  
"I know and...I'm sorry. I never wanted to say those things about you but...I thought that was the only way to help you get out of the papers, I knew that you didn't want to be famous that way..." He trailed, looking at the sand off to his side. She closed her eyes and took a step towards him, hesitant.  
  
"You said I meant nothing to you..." She said, looking away from him so that he could not see the tears in her eyes. "You said that I was a mistake and a stupid decision, that I was just some stripper..."  
  
Cloud closed his eyes, remembering his words and how much they stung now that she said them. He stood up and walked over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders as she continued to stare at the ground. He could feel her shaking as she cried, the tears falling to the sand beneath her.  
  
He never realized that he had hurt her so badly. He wanted to shoot himself for making her cry, possibly more than once. Maybe he should have never come to see her, maybe this was just too difficult for her and that it was best if he left. He should have just let her get on with her career and be happy for her and her success. Perhaps he should have just let her move on with her life, and that being here brought all the pain of that day back to her.  
  
"I know that what I said hurt you...but you have to believe me," He said, choking back the tears in his own eyes and lifting her chin to look up at him, "I did not want to do it." Again she searched for truth in his eyes and she could only find sincerity in them. It reassured her but still...what if he was just setting her up for another fall?  
  
"Then why did you say it?" She asked, allowing him to see her cry.  
  
"Because..." He didn't know how to say it without sounding like a jerk. Because he would lose the college if he didn't? How would that sound to her? He just seemed so selfish and he hung his head. "Because if I didn't I would lose the college..."  
  
He had to tell her straight up. He wanted to be honest with her from this day forward, and he hoped that she could find it in her heart to forgive him. Her eyes turned from sad to angry, and she quickly turned her back on him. He couldn't blame her, and he took a step towards her and put his arms on her shoulders once again, but she shook him off.  
  
"You would...say something horrible about me...just to secure your inheritance?" She said, her shoulders gently rising and falling from her tears and anguish.  
  
She had wanted so badly to forgive him, to be with him. But now...after what he said...she couldn't. She couldn't accept the fact that he would step on her to get his money. She couldn't forgive him for destroying her, just to get what he wanted. She couldn't be with him knowing that he could just be ready to cast her aside if he felt he needed to in order to help his own future.  
  
"Tifa, please listen to me..." Cloud pleaded, but Tifa spun on her heel and shot him a hard look.  
  
"No, you listen, Cloud." She said, barely being able to speak from all the tears. "Don't think that just because you feel bad for what you did, and now that I'm famous, that you can just come here and make me forgive you, there's more to life than publicity, so don't ask me to forgive you for saying such horrible things about me because I can't!" She cried, her voice cracking at nearly every word.  
  
She didn't want to leave him. She didn't want to turn and run away from him at that moment but she did. She fled from the beach and back into her hotel room. She had waited for months to see him again, dreaming of him, praying that he would say it was all a mistake, but she had never figured how he would tell her the reason for what he did. She had never thought about why he had done such a terrible thing. She packed her bags quickly and fled to her awaiting limo.  
  
Cloud wanted to chase after her. He didn't want to ruin his last chance at being with the girl of his dreams, but he knew that he needed to let her go. What she said made perfect sense to him, even though he didn't want it to. She was right, how could he have done such a horrible thing to her and expect her to forgive him?  
  
He lowered his head and returned to his helicopter, knowing that this was the last time he could ever see her. She could never return to him after this and he couldn't try and force her to forgive him. He wanted to be with her so badly that it hurt, but he knew that he had ruined his chance. It was his nightmare all over again, she had died in his arms, her spirit had gone from his. He closed his eyes, mentally killing himself for his actions. 


	9. Another Rejection

Author's Note: Yay, maybe THIS is the conclusion! I would like it to be but I'm not making any promises. Switched is on hold until I get some ideas, as well as Victim. I thought Barfly would last longer but it's nearing its end so I feel that I should conclude it. That last chapter nearly made me cry, I wanted them to be together so bad but...he did lie and he did break her heart. Anyhow, on with the chapter. P.S. sorry this chapter goes nowhere, but I really didn't want this story to end.  
  
  
  
Cloud walked down the halls of Midgar University, searching for some sign that life was worth living. He had become a shadow of his former self over the past year, having lost the ability to feel like a normal human being. He closed his eyes and stopped in front of a portrait of his father that was hanging on the wall near the main entrance.  
  
He glowered at the painting, cursing his father for having done this to him. He wished he had never been born in his position, an heir to a fortune. He wanted to be a normal person, like the students at his college. Most of them were around his age, but he couldn't connect with them. They would see him walking down the halls and wanted to speak with him, but they knew from experience that he would not respond. He was always lost in his own world.  
  
That never deterred the girls of the school from trying to coax him out of the depths of his own personal hell. They would crowd around him and grope his muscles, cooing and pleading with him to respond to them. They would follow him all around the school, often being late for classes, with the hopes that they could be the one to bring him out of the darkness.  
  
He stared at the painting for a few minutes, a twisted glare furrowing his brow as he showed his teeth and snarled. His nostrils flared and the picture fell to the ground, shattered into broken shards. The glass littered the hallway and the paper itself was left with a large hole through the center.  
  
Cloud brought his hand back and looked at his fist. It was covered in blood and was dripping to a puddle on the floor. He slowly plucked a piece of glass from his skin and let it fall to the ground. He could hear footsteps running towards him and then, he saw darkness.  
  
He did not faint at the sight of blood; it did not make him queasy. It was the pent up emotions of the past year that had all caught up with him all at once. He was in the infirmary of the school, staring up at the nurse through sunken eyes. His hand was completely bandaged up and he could see bloodstains on the cloth.  
  
He sat up and gripped his head, feeling the pain from where his head had hit the floor. He was not accustomed to being so weak; in fact, he had never fainted in his entire life. His father had died a few months ago, leaving him completely and utterly alone in the world. There wasn't the thought of another human being alive that cared for him the way he needed them to.  
  
He let his legs dangle over the edge of the bed and gripped its side. He slowly got up and stammered, feeling a little dizzy from the medicine he had received. He blinked his eyes to get them into focus and walked out the door, disappearing without a word to the staff.  
  
He walked home with his head bowed and his hands in his pockets. This was no way for him to live. He was still the world's sexiest bachelor but he didn't feel it anymore. He thought that by now he would have lost his image, having not been with a woman in over a year and a half. There were several times when he thought about picking up his old ways again but something inside of his soul wouldn't allow it.  
  
He may have been living and breathing, but his heart had died. His dreams had ended and he was left with nothing but regret. He had all the money in the world but still he was not complete. Like every person who seemed to have it all, the one thing he wanted most in life was totally beyond his reach.  
  
He slinked to his front door and removed his key, fumbling with it for a moment, his hands shaking. He hadn't eaten anything all-day and dreaded yet another sandwich for dinner. He could still not hire a maid for that was not company he longed for. He walked through his front door to the stale air that had once been alive with fresh scents and a morning's glow.  
  
He picked up the mail that had been shoved through the slot and threw it on the coffee table in the foyer. Most of it landed on the ground, but he didn't care, he would probably just throw it all away anyway. It had been a long time since anything outside of his own realm had interested him. He had sentenced himself to die alone, slowly and painfully, in remorse for what he had done a year ago.  
  
He couldn't keep his mind off of her and what he did to her. Her fame was growing throughout the world, she was broadening her horizons. She had begun acting in films and on television and had even been asked to do a little modeling. Her face was plastered across every magazine and on every billboard. Her image sold everything from clothing to food and her record sales continued to climb substantially.  
  
She had never spoken to him again, and no one ever asked her another question about him. The stunt at the summer show had long since faded from existence, along with all his hope. She was always in the news and in the papers; he couldn't avoid her and everything that happened to her. There always seemed to be a big story going on in her life, something was always happening to her that she couldn't get away from.  
  
The last he had heard was that she had forced a popular penthouse magazine out of business because they had continuously hounded her for a photo shoot. After her many declines, they still refused to give up, and eventually she sued. She had kept herself under close lock and key, trying her best to be free of any scandals that would tie her back to Cloud or her days as a stripper.  
  
The world knew where she lived, or so they thought, and her bar had become a worldwide landmark. She still gave concerts there, but they were growing less and less frequent since she was on the road most of the time. Whenever she returned to her bar it seemed like the entire city of Junon would attend. Her performances there always remained free, something she had decided to do to keep herself grounded and to not become a stuck up celebrity like so many others had.  
  
Cloud had often thought about going to one of her concerts but after what happened the last time he didn't feel that he could put himself through that again. He couldn't have what remained of his heart ripped in two a second time. She had been the first and only girl to ever refuse him, and it made him want her more, but he knew that his chance was gone.  
  
He sat down on the couch to go through the mail, gathering it up off the floor and leaning back to examine it. He tossed aside all the junk mail that he got from day to day. There was a magazine that had somehow found its way to his house, something that did not happen often. He rarely got other peoples mail so he was surprised to find that something had slipped through.  
  
He flipped it over to look at its cover. It was her. She was smiling at him, seducing him and begging for him to come closer to her. Her hair was blowing back from a fan and her lips were parted. She wore a white dress with a wide neckline that stretched to her waist, her trademark style. The sleeves hung off of her shoulders and flared extensively at the ends, like the wings of a dove. There was a flap of material that covered her from her waist to her ankles, but it was blowing up to the side and the sides of her legs showed up to her hips. The back of her dress would have dragged on the ground for several feet behind her but it too was flowing all around her, giving her the appearance of an angel or a white butterfly. (A/N: Yuna's 'Floral Fallal' dress sphere).  
  
He reached out and stroked the magazine gently, as if she was in the room with him and he was touching her face. She had grown more and more beautiful with each passing day, while he felt as though his looks were fleeting. His life had grown so dismal without her; he had never known rejection before she came along. He couldn't get over her, he had tried for a year but it just wasn't working. That magazine was his final glimpse into the reality that would never be.  
  
He stood up and walked over to the hall closet. He stood on his tiptoes to reach up to the highest shelf and brought down and light blue blanket. He unfolded the cloth and took out a small handgun. He had been saving it for an intruder but he felt like he was an intruder in his own life. He had ruined his own life and the only way out was through death. Then he could move on, then she could be completely devoid of him. He walked back over to the couch and placed the gun down on the table. He sat down at stared at it, continuing to thumb through his mail.  
  
  
  
"Thank you, Yuffie." Tifa said quietly as the young girl finished dabbing on another layer of loose powder.  
  
When Tifa's fame had taken flight, she had asked Yuffie to come with her on the road and help out in any way possible. Her pupil did everything from fetching her water to putting on makeup or doing her hair. Tifa didn't know what she would ever do without the young girl by her side.  
  
"That's all." Tifa added, excusing Yuffie from the room. She had an interview in a few minutes and just needed a last minute touch up before they arrived.  
  
She crossed her legs and gripped the ends of the arms on her chair. She wanted to look seductive, but not give too much away for the interviewer. She wore a dark denim miniskirt and a yellow halter top that cut off just below her breasts. She had on a thick black collar with a bowtie in the front and a brown leather coat with fur around the edges that stretched to her knees. She had on yellow track sneakers and lightly tinted sunglasses. Her hair had been blow-dried and was lifted from her sides, with her bangs flowing over her face, nearly hiding her features. (A/N: she and Cloud have matched, and she never knew it!)  
  
The woman who was going to give the interview knocked and was granted access. She walked in with her crew and sat down adjacent to the bright young star. She shook her hand nervously, afraid that she would turn to stone in the presence of such a prominent figure in the entertainment business.  
  
"Hello Miss Lockheart, how are you?" She stifled. Tifa smiled, reassuring the woman that she would not bite.  
  
"I'm good, how are you, Michelle?" She replied, shifting her weight towards the young reporter.  
  
"Very good, so I see that your latest movie has just come out in theatres and is a large success."  
  
"Yes it is, and I'm very proud of it."  
  
"This next question might be a little bit forward, but its something that I've always wanted to ask you, I hope you won't mind."  
  
"Go ahead."  
  
"You've become the biggest sex symbol in the entire world, you've been named the most beautiful woman alive by several big magazines and yet, you have no boyfriend or any man of the sort in your life, why is that?"  
  
Tifa sat back and pondered that question for a moment. She was still not over Cloud, but she couldn't admit that to the cameras. After the way she must have hurt him, after her rejection, she could only imagine that he had moved on with his life. She knew that he was not dating, and had not seen any mention of his romantic life in the papers on television, but she also didn't get a chance to check up on such things either.  
  
She looked down at her lap and clasped her hands together, twitching her fingers. She didn't know how to respond, if Cloud was watching, she didn't want him to be hurt or angry with her. When she said that she had forgiven him on that day, one year ago on the stage in Costa Del Sol, she had meant it, even if afterwards she had turned him away.  
  
She knew that he truly did her best interest in mind when he said those things about her. She had realized that after replaying his speech again and again in her head. He knew that she hated her job and would not want worldwide publicity for being a stripper. He had tried to make the world forget for her, but he couldn't. Even though he had meant well, his actions had failed. And she couldn't be angry with him for that.  
  
"I just haven't met anyone that makes me feel...that way..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes stared off into a distance that did not exist. There was longing in her eyes that the camera crew picked up on.  
  
"Stop the cameras." Michelle ordered, waving her hand. The interview had been live, so the whole world had just seen the anguish in Tifa's eyes.  
  
"I'm so sorry..." Tifa said, shaking her head, tears in her eyes.  
  
"Hey, there's no sorry about anything, Miss Lockheart, I'm the one who should be sorry, I shouldn't have asked that question, forgive me." Michelle bowed her head.  
  
Tifa let out a cry and buried her face in her folded arms as she lowered her head down to her makeup counter. She had never cried so hard in her life, her shoulders were rising and falling violently with each outburst. Michelle put a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort the broken star.  
  
"Miss Lockheart, what's wrong?" Michelle cooed, rubbing Tifa's back, trying to calm her.  
  
"Please leave." Tifa asked, motioning towards the door. Michelle immediately obeyed like a lost little puppy.  
  
Tifa hated her sudden weakness. She couldn't believe that she had just let the world see her so upset. Never had she trailed off in an interview like that, allowing the viewer's to catch a glimpse of the real her. Behind all the fake smiles and happy songs, was just a simple girl who had lost the love of her life.  
  
She wanted to turn back time and apologize to Cloud. She wanted to tell him that she forgave him, but she knew that she couldn't. She was just a stripper to him; after all, she was not someone who could change his life in the way that he had changed hers. He had probably already tossed her aside and had found a new girl, ready and willing to forgive him for any mistake he made.  
  
She slowly raised her head and looked in the mirror. Her makeup was running down her face and her eyes were bloodshot from the tears. She reached out and ran her finger along the glass, tracing the outline of her face. How could she keep on pretending like this? How much longer would she be able to fake happiness?  
  
She could see the headlines already. 'Famous Star Chokes on Camera'. That's what they would all say. She would never hear the end of it, all the questions that would be asked about the event. They would want to know why she spaced out, if she was on drugs, if it had something to do with Cloud.  
  
Cloud...he was so distant from her. How could she have ignored her feelings for him? She had settled into a life without him, had even tried dating, something that the cameras or the press had never caught up on. But no one could make the butterflies dance in her stomach like he did. She closed her eyes and remembered that day, one year ago, when she listened to her head instead of her heart.  
  
The heart is a very powerful thing. The only true way to happiness is to follow your heart, not your head, but Tifa had deceived that. She had cast her feelings aside and now where was she? Crying in her dressing room like a little child, shut off from the rest of the world. What kind of a life was that?  
  
  
  
Cloud stared at the envelope in front of him. He had set it down on the table, leaning away from it just to make sure that it was real. He recognized the letterhead as an exclusive invitation. He slowly opened it up and removed the piece of paper from inside. It was an invitation to a fashion show, something he had not been invited to since he was known for being a playboy.  
  
He didn't want to go there, he didn't want to see all the women strutting around and all the men who thought that they were perfect. Those women were not perfect, they were fake. They starved themselves to look like that and had implants all over their body just so they could gain such a status.  
  
Tifa was real, though. She had a natural beauty to her that most other girls could only dream about. He decided that he would attend however, just to get out and to try and get his thoughts away from the realm of suicide. Maybe if he saw all the women he would remember who he once was, who he had been before Tifa.  
  
He put the gun back in the closet and prepared to leave for the show. It was to be held in Gonganga, the fashion capital of the world. He headed out to his helicopter and called for the pilot, who arrived a few minutes later. He watched as his home and city became small beneath his feet as the helicopter took flight towards Gonganga.  
  
He took his seat in the front row, close to the end of the runway and off to one side. He could see other large business owners and socialites taking their seats around him, along with the cameras and the press behind him. He had never been to a show this large before, and figured that it must be the unveiling of a new clothing line that needed dozens of models.  
  
He could hear the music begin to play; it was one of Tifa's more upbeat songs. One by one the models began to enter the stage and turn at the end, glancing down at Cloud and smiling. Having him in the audience made each one want to perform their best, because they all wanted to look good for him.  
  
Then all the models returned backstage and nothing happened for a few minutes, but the music continued. He knew that the finale was coming and he was glad, he was getting tired of sitting there for over an hour being gawked at by all the paper-thin women. He was glad that he had been invited, not because he wanted to go but because he felt like he was becoming less of a hermit, and getting back into the swing of his life.  
  
All the cameramen moved closer to the stage as the curtains drew back for the finale. Only one woman entered the stage instead of the usual few. Her thick dark brown hair was flowing all around her, cascading over her shoulders as she strutted towards the end of the stage, flipping around without even noticing Cloud and walking back towards the center. She bowed, her long red dress hanging over the sides of the stage it was so long.  
  
Cloud now didn't know why he had been invited. The last thing the world should have done was to invite him to be in the same room with Tifa. They were as dead to each other as two people in a graveyard, so why had he been invited? Angered by the notion, he briskly turned and headed for the door when a man grabbed him by the shoulder. He turned around, ready to fight the man off, but he didn't.  
  
"You're wanted backstage Mr. Strife." The man said gruffly.  
  
He stood about a foot taller than the blonde air and was nearly three times his size, perfect for a security guard. Cloud nodded, confused, but followed the man back into the dressing room area. He followed anxiously, wondering why he was being called backstage. He was led to a private dressing room with a star on it and allowed to enter.  
  
Tifa stood there, her back to him. She wore a turquoise silk robe that barely covered her buttocks and was tied in front, the neckline hanging low between her breasts. She was pulling her hair up into some sort of a messy bun and was looking at him in the mirror. She didn't say anything, just finished putting up her hair, then turned to face him, leaning against the counter.  
  
"You...sent the invitation?" Cloud asked, perplexed. Tifa bowed her head and looked back up at him. "...Why?"  
  
Never in a million years had Cloud ever expected her to summon him, though he had fantasized about her doing so. He hoped that she would apologize, no, she didn't need to apologize for ripping his heart in two, he needed to apologize...for being such an ass.  
  
"It's been a year, hasn't it?" She asked, her voice sounding distant and forlorn. Cloud nodded and cautiously took a step towards her.  
  
"Yes...it has." He said, staring at the floor. Never had he been so afraid in the presence of a woman.  
  
"Are you well?" She asked, tilting her head.  
  
"Yes..." He responded, obviously lying. Tifa nodded and pushed herself off of the counter.  
  
"I just...wanted to say..." She looked away from him for a moment, then looked straight into his eyes. "That I'm sorry...for last year."  
  
"Tifa, no, I'm the one who should be sorry." He said, taking another step towards her, but she raised her hand to stop him from coming any closer.  
  
"I guess you've heard the latest story, huh?" She said, looking down.  
  
"I saw that interview, what happened?" Cloud wanted to rush to her side, to comfort her and hold her, but he knew that he couldn't.  
  
Tifa wanted him to hold her. She wanted to let him come to her and love her, but she couldn't, not while she knew he was still obsessed with money. The college had become a brazen signal to her, a beacon of dreams that have been shattered. She wanted to be with Cloud so badly, but she couldn't tell him that the college stood between them, he needed to figure out what was most important in his life; money, or love.  
  
She knew that as long as he still owned the college that that would be gain the majority of his attention. She didn't want to risk being hurt again so that he could further his bank account. She could sense that he knew that she had something more to say, but before she started crying, she felt she should ask him to leave.  
  
"It was nothing. I'm sorry Cloud...I need to be alone." She said, turning from him once again, too afraid to make her move, too afraid to let him know how she felt.  
  
He was confused, but he knew that he was no longer needed. He turned and left the premises, wondering why she had invited him. He knew that she was hiding something, but what? Why wouldn't she just tell him? He could see the tears in her eyes when she turned from him, he had seen her disappointed expression in the mirror, but he had said nothing, again, he was without her. 


	10. Come Between Us

Author's Note: Alright, I promise, this is the last chapter of this story. I don't want it to end either but we all know that all stories need to come to a close. And likewise, this is one of them. I'm actually very proud of myself for ending something. I didn't want this one to go on forever like Victim but I also don't want it to end. Now I have a new story that will begin soon, so don't worry, you won't be stuck only with Victim. But you know, you COULD always read Of You and The Survivor and review them, but that's just my personal opinion. And now, the finale, of Barfly. P.S. please note, yada yada, songs are NOT written by me, blah, blah, blah. By the way, sorry that I kept saying unless otherwise noted, I thought that I would use some of the songs I wrote a couple years ago, but they would not be appropriate for Tifa so...that's why there was no otherwise noted. Just to clear that up.  
  
  
  
Cloud was seated in his desk chair again, trying to concentrate on his work. He had made leaps and bounds at settling himself into the business of owning a college. He had gotten into the flow of things, even if it had taken him twenty-one months to do so. It had been three months since his last encounter with Tifa and he was trying his hardest to get over her.  
  
He knew that he was being pathetic, that he was only torturing himself by thinking of her, but still...he couldn't get her off his mind. Both times that she had rejected him there had been something else on the tip of her tongue...he could tell, she just wouldn't tell him.  
  
All he ever did anymore was work. He was losing himself in a way he had never wanted to. He knew that that was the road his father had taken when he had inherited the college and that he himself would slowly die from it. The college was like a curse, it ruined lives, it killed the Strife's. It was like some great source of power that would destroy whoever owned it.  
  
Cloud didn't want that burden anymore. He had prepared to make his amends. He had wanted to tell Tifa long ago that he would give up everything for her but he never could. He supposed that maybe; one last try would do him good. It was now or never, he thought, he would try one last time to get her to forgive him and this was it.  
  
He knew why she hadn't forgiven him. She was following her mind and not her heart. He could see it in her eyes that she wanted to be with him, it wasn't just him being conceited and knowing that he could have any woman he wanted, he truly saw it in her expression. He could see her optimism start to slowly fade in the spotlight with each passing day, with each passing photo shoot or concert.  
  
God if he hadn't been so stupid, so heartless, neither of them would be dying right now. He knew she was too, by the increasing amount of makeup around her eyes he knew...that she was hiding her dark circles. She still hadn't moved on with her life, it was just too hard for her.  
  
He hadn't moved on either. He hadn't even tried to. He had lost all meaning in his life, all purpose. He was right back where he started from before he met her, and he didn't want to be there again. He closed his eyes and sighed. If this last chance at convincing her that he was the man for her didn't work, he was prepared to die. His life was going nowhere and he just couldn't take it anymore.  
  
He knew what he had to do. He had been planning it for a few weeks now. He was going to sell the college. He would have given it up for her in a heartbeat if she had asked; it seemed to be the bridge between them, a bridge with a rock-solid roadblock in the middle of it. But she had never asked. He thought that maybe, if he showed her that he would give up the very thing that had driven them apart, she would believe him.  
  
He had tossed her aside like the other women in his life just so that he could inherit the college, something he didn't even want in the first place. He looked up as the lawyers entered the room, prepared to do business. He didn't want a lengthy conversation; he wanted to be rid of his burden once and for all. He had never wanted it in the first place, so why had he kept it for so long?  
  
"Are you sure that you want to go through with this, Mr. Strife?" One of the lawyers asked, sliding the contract over to Cloud.  
  
"Oh I'm sure." Cloud responded, skimming through the article and signing.  
  
He had never been more sure of himself in his life. Leaving the college would be the best thing for him. Even if Tifa declined him once again, he would be able to start a life that he had always wanted, a simple life, a common life. He would buy an apartment or a small house somewhere and live out his days peacefully.  
  
He took what remained of his inheritance and the money made from selling the college and put it all in a bank so that he would never have to work again in his life. He wanted to live in a small town, where he would probably be known but not a lot of people would be around to bother him. He would be able to move on with his life, maybe even meet someone and start a family.  
  
And so, for the last time, he packed his bags and headed for the train station, he was free. He took a seat by the window but did not bother to watch his old life disappear right before his eyes. He didn't want to look back; he didn't want to remember his regrets. He was heading for Junon, Tifa was going to be performing at her bar in a few days, and he would ask her there.  
  
It would be just like their first night together. It would be like starting over with her. He wanted to meet her again for the first time, so to speak. He needed to reestablish himself as he had done so that first night in her bar. For hours he imagined how the meeting would go and he imagined his success. When the train conductor called out the Junon stop, he could feel the butterflies in his stomach.  
  
He knew that everything he had planned to say would come out jumbled, as prepared speeches usually did for someone who was nervous. He just hoped that he would be able to say what he wanted to say and get his point across. He would understand if she still didn't forgive him, but he wouldn't be able to accept that, no, he would not accept a life without her.  
  
There was a line outside of her bar that had already formed for the evening performance. Cloud could see that inside the building was already packed; he just hoped that he could get in. He walked up to the bouncer, a large black man, perfect for the job, and pulled out one hundred gil.  
  
"Mr. Strife? It's great to finally meet you. You gonna break her heart again?" The man asked, folding his arms and peering down at Cloud's permissive frame through glaring white eyes.  
  
"No I came...to talk to her..." Cloud said, noticing the restlessness of the crowd behind him.  
  
"Really? You and about five hundred others!" The man snarled, motioning to the line that stretched down the street and around the corner.  
  
"Please, sir," Cloud had never called anyone but his father 'sir' in his entire life. It felt degrading but it was one small step towards normalcy. "I know she misses me and...I miss her too, ya gotta let me in!" Cloud pleaded, holding up another hundred gil.  
  
The large man sucked back his tongue and rolled his eyes, silently cursing himself for allowing the man in to hurt his star once again. He closed his eyes and frowned, shaking his head back and forth and pulling aside the velvet rope that blocked Cloud's entrance. He waved the young blonde in and latched the rope behind him, holding up his hand to stop the next person in line.  
  
"Thank you, very much!" Cloud exclaimed, shaking the security guard's hand, then rushing into the building.  
  
He saw that all the barstools were already taken and he frowned. He needed to sit there if his plan would work. He walked up to a man who was trying to peer over the crowd to get a good look at the stage and pulled out yet another hundred gil. He didn't care how much it cost him to get a chance to see Tifa, and three hundred gil was nothing to him anyway. The man smiled widely and snatched the money from Cloud, hurrying away to find a different spot. Cloud kneeled on the stage, just as he had done the first night he laid eyes on Tifa, trying to look over the heads in front of him. He could hear the loud cheers and applause as the lights dimmed and a drumbeat started.  
  
  
  
Tifa sat in her dressing room, her legs crossed, just gazing at the wall. Her head was propped up on her fist as she leaned over, thinking of her performance. She closed her eyes and sighed, knowing that this would be her last performance at this bar. She had lost herself in her career, something she had feared doing. She was on the road so much that she had no more time for the bar that was once her dream. She would sell it and trade it in for a roaming home, something that could move with her as she traveled.  
  
She hated to do it, but she had to. If she were to continue on the path that she had selected, it would be necessary. She didn't want to lose her home but she knew that it would only hold her back and that her performances there would grow few and far between.  
  
She stood up and shook her wrists to calm her nerves and loosen up her joints. She ran a quick voice exercise and drank half a bottle of water. She closed her eyes as she heard her name be announced. She slowly took a step out onto stage, trying not to look at the eager faces that were awaiting her brilliant voice. She didn't want to let them down and she knew that if she looked at them she would cry. She took the microphone off of its stand and moved the pole out of her way. She choked back her emotions and began to speak, agonizing as it was.  
  
She was wearing a purple tank top with straps that stuck close to her neck with a thick red scarf around her neck. There was a large whole in the middle of the shirt that barely covered her breasts. She wore purple gloves that stretched up to her upper arm with a zigzag flap that hung over the hem. She had on a yellow half skirt with a thick waistline that reached just below her left knee and had thick blue stripes across it and was jagged at the edge. Her yellow thong sides stretched over her hips and she wore hot pink thigh-high tights with black garters to hold them up at that jagged white edges. She wore loose blue boots with yellow stripes and her hair hung loose all around her, with thin pieces braided and hanging down with the rest of it. (A/N: Rikku's 'Gun Mage' dress sphere).  
  
"This song...is about...leaving something you love. This will be...my last concert in this bar. I can no longer keep coming back here, leaving my career." She bowed her head as a salty drop escaped her eye. "I'm sorry." She stood up and shifted her weight onto one leg, bending her other at the knee and bowing her head to the side in sorrow.  
  
_Made to think of the joys and sorrows  
I relax in the sweet sound  
Words, with their power, bring me to my senses  
  
There is only one thing to transmit  
Yes, on this cold cheek  
I can feel the touch of the palm of your hand  
  
By this fleeting warmth  
Our separation can be filled by heartbeats  
This time will dry up the rift  
Because I can meet you when I close my eyes  
  
That afternoon walking with you  
Without reason, an unexpected thought  
That before long, these days will probably end  
  
More than the voice of a premonition, I hear  
The exchange of smiles; I believe that  
The palm of your hand can make it happen again  
  
By this modest warmth  
Our wounds will be sealed by life  
To make it come true, if your love burns  
Begin from this moment  
  
Perhaps nothing in this reflected world  
When I want to stop time  
Even if the dreams I hope for disappear  
Because this time of living without you isn't a dream  
  
Fleeting warmth  
Even if our souls are separated far away  
Trembling, this moment  
holds my feelings, to tomorrow  
  
The palm of your hand that is dear to me  
Because I can't forget it, when to you  
I arrive after a struggle; we'll meet by chance, surely, even getting over the darkness..._  
  
She lowered her head once again as she brought her arm to rest upon her chest, between her breasts. She held her hand in a fist as if to fight the power that was overcoming her and turning her soul dark. She didn't want to leave her home, her bar, her modest dream. Her career had swept her up and ruined her humbleness. A drop rolled down her cheek, illuminated by the white light against the otherwise dark backdrop. She looked out at the audience, the pain of her emotions showing in her eyes.  
  
She turned and left the stage area, painfully aware that she had devastated the audience with her shocker. She could not take it back, though she wished that there were some other way. Her bar had started her career, that was where she had been discovered. She couldn't ignore how much she owed to the building that had given her everything.  
  
She sat down on her makeup counter, her back against the wall and her head resting against the mirror. She bent her knees and stretched her calves out along the table. She looked sadly into the mirror, her eyes wide and shimmering with the film of sorrow. She knew that in a few minutes she would have to face all the tears and anger from her patrons. She had abandoned them, her most loyal of fans, and that was punishable by eternal damnation in her mind.  
  
She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees, thinking of life at the bar. Her happiest performances were given at that bar; it always seemed to bring out the best in her. Now she would be on the road all day, every day. She would be sleeping on fold away beds or cots and using small, impersonal bathrooms. She had accepted her fate, but could she accept letting down those who had supported her throughout her career?  
  
Yuffie knew how hard this was for Tifa. She had grown accustomed to the emotions displayed by each one of her friend's actions. She could read her mentor like a book and she knew that this was not what she wanted. She walked back stage to see Tifa huddled in the corner, crying into her knees. She walked over and placed a sympathetic hand on her friend's shoulder. Tifa put her hand over the younger girl's to thank her.  
  
"It's all right, Tifa." Yuffie comforted. She leaned against the counter and wrapped her arm around Tifa's shoulders for support. "They understand. They're not mad."  
  
Tifa looked up at her companion in innocent approval. She knew that her patrons would understand her leaving them like that but still...she felt guilty. Now if any of them wanted to watch her sing they would have to pay a lot of gil and that was something she swore she wouldn't force them to do.  
  
"Come on, go tend bar and talk with them." Yuffie added with a wink.  
  
It was time for the younger girl to leave and go home, but she also knew that someone special was waiting for Tifa. Tifa nodded and wiped away her tears, standing up and walking out the door to the bar. Everyone clapped for her one last time as she made her way to the bar to serve them drinks. She kept her eyes to the ground so that they did not see her cry, but she took their orders and made their drinks for them accordingly.  
  
"What'll you have?" She asked a man sitting at the end of the bar, her last customer to be served.  
  
The man looked at her intently, waiting for her to look up at him. He paused for a moment before responding, thinking of just the perfect thing to say to her. He looked down at the counter, his hands trembling and started to speak nervously.  
  
"I'll have...Red Canyon." He said. She had turned to glance at another patron by the time she looked up, and still didn't notice him. She nodded and went to grab him his beer, turning her back on him to grab one from the shelf behind her. "Umm...could you add a little grape juice to that?" Cloud added.  
  
Tifa stood up, her mind racing. No one in the world knew that she kept grape juice behind the bar except... It got her thinking. She arched her back and stared straight forward into the shelf, her heart sinking for a moment and then the butterflies started to flutter in her stomach. Her heart flip-flopped as she slowly turned around, nearly dropping the beer bottle in her anticipation.  
  
It was him. Cloud Strife sat at her bar, ordering a drink. She had secretly wished that he would come find her, that he would prove somehow that he still wanted to be with her. She had dreamed about it for weeks and had even mentioned it to Yuffie, who smiled and giggled at her childish idea. Tifa's eyes widened with delight and her jaw dropped into a smile.  
  
"H...hi." She squeaked out, causing him to laugh a little. She waved with her fingers and set the bottle down on the counter before she let it shatter to the ground.  
  
"Hello there." Cloud said, pretending to be calm and controlled. "You were wonderful tonight." He took the beer and opened it before she mixed it. "Thanks." He said, toasting her with the bottle and bringing it to his lips. He grimaced in discontent and put the bottle down on the counter.  
  
"Don...don't like the taste?" She breathed, realizing his game. He was starting over with her.  
  
"No it's great, it's just that...I'm not much of a beer drinker." He responded, a coy smile spreading across his face. Tifa felt tears of joy form in the corner of her eyes as she smiled back at him.  
  
"Me neither." She said, standing still and gazing at him longingly. The tears began to roll down her cheek for she was telling him that she missed him, and that, 'me neither', was her way of saying her life was nothing without him.  
  
Cloud reached across the bar and wiped away Tifa's tears with his fingers, adding a soft smile and causing her to snicker at his touch. He kept his hand on her cheek, feeling her warm skin against his own as she nestled in his palm. She closed her eyes, thinking about how good it felt to have him touch her. She smiled heavenly, never wanting him to let her go.  
  
Cloud stood up and reached his other arm around her back, pulling her up and across the counter, until their lips met. Tifa was surprised and let out a soft whimper as he pulled her close, her legs bent beneath her against the wood. She allowed herself to feel the pleasure and wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed her. She could hear the patrons all around her cheering for them, and she laughed, resting her forehead against his and smiling. He would always be with her.  
  
"Nothing will come between us again." Cloud whispered as their noses touched. He lowered his head to kiss her again, this time a little harder. 


	11. Epilogue

Author's Note: Not really a point to this I've just always wanted to make an epilogue in a story. Also, second scene, I didn't want to elaborate on because of...well...it's a surprise for the VERY distant future! And another also, this chapter is written like the end of a movie, that is why it is short.  
  
  
  
"So why did you sell the college?" Tifa asked with her arm around Cloud and stroking his hair as his head rest on her shoulder.  
  
It had been a day or so since Cloud stepped back into her life, and frankly, these lazy days lying around doing nothing were a pleasant change from her otherwise hectic life. She had flopped down on the bed after some minor gardening, just watering her favorite flowers, and Cloud had followed her. She was glad that he had come back to her and this time; he had come without the baggage.  
  
She wasn't sure exactly why she had taken him back so abruptly, after nine months of avoiding him, with their little escapade in Costa Del Sol and her failed attempt at an apology after the fashion show. She had been lonely, most prominently, but she had also forgiven him long ago. She also knew that she was not over him in the least and she wanted a reason to keep her bar.  
  
She was glad to have him around now. He helped run the business aspect of her bar, ordering supplies and handling the money, while she performed and Yuffie tended bar. It was a great team when they were all working together and the bar ran smoothly. She did miss seeing all the adoring eyes of her fans while she was on the road, but her miniature concerts at the bar suited her just fine. It was where she truly wanted to be and with Cloud's help, she was able to keep her investment.  
  
They weren't out of the public's eye but they weren't as watched as they had been. They lived a peaceful life in near solitude, their past fame far behind them. They could only look ahead into the future at what their lives would be years from now.  
  
"For you." Cloud said, staring at the ceiling and blushing. Tifa rolled over on her side and propped her head up on her hand.  
  
"What would you have done if I had said no?" She asked. Cloud too rolled over to face her, looking up at her with his shining azure eyes.  
  
"Move to Kalm, probably." He responded, shrugging his shoulders. "But I was hoping you'd say yes so I wouldn't have to." He added, taking her free hand in his. Tifa closed her eyes and blushed.  
  
Their final meeting had been like a scene from a movie. The fact that he said almost the exact same thing he had the night when she had first met him struck a chord in her heart. It was like meeting him all over again, and this time he was completely sincere. She couldn't be mad anymore because she understood why he had done what he had done. It wasn't just to keep his business, it was because of an overbearing father, and she couldn't hate him for that.  
  
6 months later  
  
Bells rang from the steeple of the local church. Even with their muted fame their wedding had been the event of the century. Scores of people had watched from inside the church, and from televisions across the globe, as well as the dedicated fans that stood outside the white building listening to the ceremony via loud speakers.  
  
The large chapel oak doors swung open as confetti, pastel streamers and rice were flown over the walkway from the front of the church to the awaiting limo. Cloud, dressed impeccably in his black tux and Tifa, in her long flowing white gown, rushed through the line with their heads bowed to avoid all the clutter. Tifa stopped to throw her bouquet, then rushed into the limo with Cloud close at her heels.  
  
Yuffie caught the bouquet and couldn't believe it. She had never won anything in her life or something like this. She was surprised as she stared at the white roses that she held in her hands. She didn't know what to make of all the commotion but she could sense the cold stares of the jealous women around her. She looked around with a slight smile on her face and met a glance with a man on the other side of the sidewalk.  
  
He had glowing red eyes and long black hair that was blowing in the breeze. He looked very out of place at a wedding, he looked like he would belong more at a funeral. Yuffie smiled as she stared at him. It had been a long running tradition in her family that whoever caught the bouquet would marry the first man she laid eyes on after she caught it.  
  
1 year later  
  
Cloud sat on a bench in the backyard of Tifa's Seventh Heaven bar. They had built a garden to commemorate their one-year anniversary. There was not much land behind the house, but they were happy with the garden nonetheless. It had an oriental flare to it, with a sand colored cobblestone walkway that curved through the backyard. On either side were beautiful eye-catching shrubs with ornate flowers growing on their stalks. At the far end was a pond with Koi swimming freely in it with a waterfall to churn the water. The pond narrowed into a stream at one end and snaked its way back up to the porch where Cloud sat with Tifa's head resting on his lap. There was a large arched bridge running over the stream where it crossed the walkway and a memory stone at the front of the garden with Cloud and Tifa's names etched into it.  
  
Cloud ran his fingers through Tifa's hair as she gazed up into the summer sky. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, then moved his hand to rest on the bulge in her stomach. He smiled as he looked across the garden, admiring its features. Soon he would be sitting at this bench and watching a child play in its beautiful foliage.  
  
A man walked out of the house dressed in a butler's suit, with white gloves and shined shoes carrying a tray with two glasses of lemonade on it. He walked over to Cloud's bench and lowered the tray to offer the drinks to them. He did not smile, nor was he paid more than a few gil an hour. He needed the job and whatever money he could get, plus he loved being around Tifa, even though seeing her with Cloud made him insanely jealous.  
  
"Thank you Dan." Cloud said, picking up his glass and toasting the servant with a coy smile on his face. The butler grimaced and walked back into the house as the afternoon sun began to sink. 


End file.
